Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
It’s the sled dog days of winter in Indianapolis, but that doesn’t mean sports have stopped. Matter of fact, look at all the things going on out there.
No. 1. Another NFL Scouting Combine is nearing an end, but how do we know when they’re done at Lucas Oil Stadium? Rule of thumb: It’s never over ’til the fat guys run around the traffic cones.
Included on each player’s itinerary is the famous Wonderlic intelligence and problem-solving test. Apparently, if you score low enough, it can hurt your draft status—but only if it’s lower than your 40 time. Anyway, here are a few multiple choice questions off the test sheet. Really.
You’ll soon have more money than you’ve ever seen. It would be smart to …
A. Put some of it in a savings plan.
B. Hire a reputable financial adviser.
C. Not spend any of it buying the new book, “How To Be A Successful NFL Rookie,” by Johnny Manziel.
You’re having trouble holding onto the football in your workouts. A practical solution would be to …
A. Ask one of the veterans for advice.
B. Ask one of the coaches for help.
C. Ask one of the New England Patriots equipment guys how to deflate a ball.
The reason the combine is in Indianapolis in February and not, say, Florida is …
A. It saves money on sunscreen.
B. The walk from the taxi to the hotel lobby will feel just like Lambeau Field in the playoffs.
C. Nobody seems to know.
No. 2. The IndyCar preseason media event was just held at the Speedway, just as winter storm Octavia blew through. Gentlemen, start your snowplows.
No. 3. The Indiana Pacers resumed play after the All-Star break. Available now at your neighborhood Speedway gas station is the new lottery game: Guess Which Day Paul George Returns.
The good news: only six of the 28 post-break games are against the Western Conference. Indiana is 7-17 vs. the West, 14-16 against the East.
No. 4. The Carmel girls swim team is celebrating its national-record-tying 29th consecutive state championship. The last non-Greyhound champion was in 1986, the same year something called a laptop computer was introduced. Meanwhile, the rest of the country’s prep swimming community looks at the Carmel times from last week and wonders if this is actually a team from East Germany.
No. 5. The 105th boys high school basketball tournament will soon start. If this were World Cup soccer, the Group of Death would be the Indianapolis Shortridge sectional, where three of the top-five-ranked 2A teams—No. 1 Park Tudor, No. 2 Howe and No. 5 Scecina— are packed into the same gymnasium.
No. 6. The college basketball teams are making their final arguments for Selection Sunday. We all remember the Great Shutout of 2014, when the NCAA Tournament issued invitations to everyone from Albany to Wofford, but not one school from Indiana.
That won’t happen again. Last season, Indiana, Purdue, Butler, Notre Dame and Valparaiso combined to lose 57 conference games. At the close of business Feb. 18, they had lost 18. So never mind how Purdue and Indiana were 11th and ninth in a Big Ten preseason media poll. Or that Butler and Notre Dame were picked to finish seventh in the Big East and ACC. Or that Valpo was considered fourth-best in the Horizon League.
But the job has to be finished.
Notre Dame, with its best record in four decades, is a lock. Butler is nearly there. If the NCAA committee wants a Butler endorsement, it could ask Villanova Coach Jay Wright. Listening to him talk about the Bulldogs last week, you felt like asking Wright if he wanted to pat Blue.
“It’s just pure basketball. I would love to just watch a game here. … Sometimes when we’re preparing for somebody else [studying film], I’m watching them, and we’re not even playing them.”
Indiana needs only a decent finish, probably with the customary 7279 formula. Give up 72, score 79.
Valparaiso will probably have to win the Horizon League tournament, even though the 24-4 record is its best since 1924. Yes, the United Nations of Porter County is back at it, with key Crusaders from Canada, Jamaica and Croatia. In the past two decades, Valpo has had 31 players from 18 countries. There’s a forward from Portugal coming next season.
Purdue has a lot of work to do, with an RPI in the 60s. Ah, the shadows of North Florida and Gardner-Webb. The Boilermakers certainly seemed to have found another gear, especially on defense, but they’ll likely need a run in the Big Ten tournament.
Busy times, aren’t they? All that, plus scraping windshields.•
__________
Lopresti is a lifelong resident of Richmond and a graduate of Ball State University. He was a columnist for USA Today and Gannett newspapers for 31 years. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at mlopresti@ibj.com.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.