News » girlfriend of just over a year, former Iowa studen

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa senior wide receiver Matt VandeBerg might have stumbled upon the best possible way to settle ones nerves before proposing marriage.Play, star in and win a game at home over your hated rivals.Wait five minutes -- and then pop the question.VandeBergs strategy worked like to perfection in the aftermath of last weekends 42-3 win over Iowa State.VandeBerg had arguably the best game of his life, catching seven passes for 129 yards and a touchdown. But all that was quickly forgotten once his girlfriend of just over a year, former Iowa student Laura Bulanda, accepted his proposal from the stands.Ive known shes the one for a while. Its just a matter of making sure she knows, VandeBerg said.In a way, it is ironic that VandeBergs iconic moment had very little to do with football.Like many of Iowas best players, past and present, VandeBerg had to put in years of work when few were looking just for a shot at real playing time.VandeBerg was lightly-recruited out of Brandon Valley High in South Dakota, largely because his frame was so light to begin with. Intrigued by the programs reputation for turning unheralded prospects into All-Big Ten type players, VandeBerg signed with the Hawkeyes as almost a footnote back in the winter of 2013.But VandeBerg, now 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, showed enough potential to play sparingly as a freshman and sophomore, catching 22 passes.If the coaches are willing to bring me here and put their trust in me, I need to put trust in myself that I can play at this level, VandeBerg said.With defenses keyed on Tevaun Smith and his relationship with new starting quarterback C.J. Beathard growing with every practice, VandeBerg emerged in 2015 as one of the unlikeliest standouts on perhaps the nations most surprisingly successful team.VandeBerg overcame his lack of size with an uncanny ability to get open, consistently finding the soft spot in the defense as a slot receiver.He finished with 65 receptions, the second-most ever by an Iowa player, and earned honorable-mention All-Big Ten honors.Hes one of the hardest workers on the team. He does it day in, day out, Beathard said. Everyone on the team has a ton of respect for him. Hes just a smart player. We know hes going to be where he needs to be at the right time. And hes a guy that, if he makes a mistake, nobody has to say anything to him because hes going to beat himself up over that more than anybody else will.With Smith now in the NFL, VandeBerg has taken over as Iowas No. 1 receiver.Through two games, hes on pace for one of the great seasons in school history. VandeBerg is averaging over 20 yards a catch in 2016, including a nifty 12-yard TD reception against the Cyclones.The guy is a ball of energy, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.That VandeBerg was able to have the best performance as a Hawkeyes ahead the most important moment of his life is perhaps his biggest accomplishment yet.VandeBerg tried not to tell anyone what he had planned for Saturday, likely because such a moment wouldve been overshadowed had the Hawkeyes lost.But VandeBerg couldnt help himself, telling Beathard and a few others of his plan.Beathard, in turn, joked to VandeBerg that the only reasons he threw so many passes to him against Iowa State was to make sure Laura said yes.With news like that, youve got to tell some of your buddies, VandeBerg said.---Follow Luke Meredith on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LukeMeredithAP--Online: www.collegefootball.ap.org Cheap Nolan Ryan Jersey . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. Cheap Pedro Martinez Jersey . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. http://www.cheapmetsjerseys.com/ .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Cheap New York Mets Jerseys . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. Cheap Mets Jerseys . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A man took a coconut cream pie from a grocery bag, grabbed Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson from behind and smacked him in the face with it at a charity event, leading the former NBA star to start swinging and then tackle the man who was left battered and facing assault charges.The pie wielder and local activist, Sean Thompson, 32, said Thursday that the mayor overreacted, sending him to the hospital for nine stitches before he went to jail. He said he was angry Johnson devoted so much political energy to an arena for the citys basketball team and not to other needs such as education and homelessness.The mayor was greeting people eating at an outdoor charity dinner Wednesday night at Sacramento Charter High School when Thompson pulled Johnson back and shoved the pie in his face, said Johnsons chief of staff, Crystal Strait.There was no throwing of the pie, said Erika Bjork, who works for a professional soccer team in Sacramento and saw the encounter up close. This was a direct assault. It just happened that he had a pie in his hand.Bjork, whose boss is a major donor to Johnson, said the mayor looked shocked and swung at Thompson multiple times, but she didnt see him land any punches.Thompson had red and blue bruises and a roughly 1-inch line of stitches under his left eye when he spoke to The Associated Press in jail.When I threw the pie at him, right at that moment, I shouted at him. I said, `You need to better represent me, Thompson said.He said the mayor turned and hit him at least twice and pretty hard. Thompson said he covered his face and started to move away but was quickly surrounded by people and kept taking hits. He couldnt tell who delivered the blows.Thompson said he expected to be tackled by police but was caught off guard when the punches came from the mayor. He said he has no regrets but was surprised to be facing a felony, assaulting a public official.He was held on $100,000 bail and was expected to be formally charged Friday.Johnsons signature achievement in office was getting a $550 million arena built for the Sacramento Kings, which Thompson said took attention away from other issues.Cres Vellucci, who organizes legal supporrt for activists at the National Lawyers Guild in Sacramento, said people in the social justice community are concerned about Thompsons safety and Johnsons physical response.ddddddddddddProsecutors will review the case, including the mayors reaction, after receiving the police reports, likely on Friday, district attorney spokeswoman Shelly Orio said.Whether youre hit in the face with a pie or a fist, youve been assaulted and youre generally allowed to respond with similar force, said Rory Little, a former litigator and professor at University of California Hastings College of the Law.Johnsons response probably is not a disproportionate reaction, though it might not be the reaction we want our public officials to have, Little said.Vellucci wrote in an email that he met Thompson five years ago and described him as a nonviolent person who participated in some of the first Black Lives Matter protests in Sacramento in 2014 and in Occupy Sacramento rallies before that.Police and Johnsons chief of staff said Thompson was not previously known to the mayor and his staff. In an interview with local TV stations, Thompson said hes interacted with Johnson many times during city meetings for activists and that the mayor often appears disinterested and unengaged in community members concerns.Johnson is well-known for his efforts to revitalize Oak Park, a predominantly African-American neighborhood.Hes a graduate of the high school where the event was held Wednesday and brought it back from the brink of dissolution in the early 2000s by incorporating it in a system of charter schools he founded to help disadvantaged communities.Johnson, who had a long career as an NBA All-Star with the Phoenix Suns and a brief stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, has about two months left as mayor. He decided not to seek a third term.---Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper contributed to this report.---This story has been corrected to show that the first name of Cres Vellucci was misspelled Chris and that Thompson had injuries around his left eye, not his right. ' ' '