Now that the NCAA has decided not to punish Indiana University further for basketball infractions, the athletic program must
concentrate on building an honest, successful sports program.
Jim Rosenstihl, an Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame coch, and Jim Limp, a retired Eli Lilly employee, together exemplified
an undying, unyielding, unrelenting friendship.
It’s been a disappointing season for soon-to-be ex-Purdue football coach Joe Tiller, but he helped make football important
at Purdue University.
The Pacers opening victory, new game innovations at Conseco Fieldhouse and retaining Danny Granger are bright spots in the
city’s vast sports scene.
New Indiana University athletic director Fred Glass must return integrity to IU athletics, while being a cheerleader who believes
in accessibility, focus and consistency.
Of this, that and the other: It was my pleasure to co-moderate (with IBJ’s Anthony Schoettle) last week’s IBJ “Power Breakfast” featuring Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy. This was the third year I’d shared the stage with Dungy, the Super Bowl-winning coach who most of us know by now is also a best-selling author, a man of deep faith, and a committed social activist, the latter best exemplified by his involvement with his mentoring program, All-Pro Dads. A Westin Hotel…
Last week, I attended a press conference that pumped the upcoming Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase at Lucas Oil Stadium Dec. 6. The Showcase will feature Indiana University versus Gonzaga University in one game, the University of Notre Dame against Ohio State University in the other. Name wise, it’s a stellar lineup befitting the occasion: the first basketball games to take place in LOS. It’s safe to predict they will be the first of many. At the very least, an…
On Oct. 8, the Indiana Pacers are going to treat us older folks to a nostalgic trip. They’re going to take on the New Orleans Hornets in a preseason game at the Pepsi Coliseum. Before things like corporate naming rights came along, it was simply known as the Coliseum. It was that “other” basketball venue in town, playing second fiddle to Butler (now Hinkle) Fieldhouse. But when the Pacers entered the American Basketball Association and began dribbling those red, white…
Goodness knows, I’m not an economist. One look at my checking account would confirm that. So as my wife and I gather in front of the evening news and try to digest the ups and downs of the stock market along with our dinner, we, like most Americans, can only hope and trust (?) that our wiser (?) government and financial leaders will find a way out of the morass. We’re luckier than many. Our children are raised and college…
Last week’s column looked ahead to the limitless possibilities of Lucas Oil Stadium. This week’s topic is a last look back at the Hoosier/RCA Dome because, this Wednesday, the Dome will be deflated and it will pass forever from our skyline. But not from our memories. Imagine our city without it. There would be no Indianapolis Colts. There likely would be no forthcoming Super Bowl, no Final Fours and no NCAA headquarters. There likely would have been no Pan American…
Of this, that and the other while pondering the fact that the Indianapolis Colts have not yet been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs: So I’m sitting in Lucas Oil Stadium before that seasonopening loss to the Bears and my mind wanders, not to the present, but to the future. Yes, the stadium already is home to the Colts as well as upcoming NCAA basketball, including a men’s regional next spring, the men’s Final Four in 2010, and the Women’s Final…
Just a few miles north of Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Colts are to meet the Chicago Bears in their NFL opener, another new football field was seeing its first official action over the weekend. And yes, there is a direct link between the two, as well as the same sense of profound satisfaction that this new field, like LOS, will make a positive and long-lasting difference in our community. Tabernacle Presbyterian Church’s youth sports ministry-our own little Miracle on…
SPORTS These football dreams give way to football reality How about this? The Indianapolis Colts inaugurate Lucas Oil Stadium with another Super Bowlwinning season. Indiana and Purdue meet in the Old Oaken Bucket game for a Rose Bowl berth. Notre Dame authors the greatest turnaround in school history and plays in the BCS national championship game. Ball State’s Nate Davis makes a run for the Heisman Trophy. Well, a guy can dream, can’t he? Truth is, all I’m hoping for…
Ball State’s Nate Davis makes a run for the Heisman Trophy. Well, a guy can dream, can’t he? Truth is, all I’m hoping for at this juncture is that Peyton Manning is healthy for the season opener, Indiana (never look beyond the next play) gets past Western Kentucky, Purdue sends Joe Tiller into retirement on a winning note, Notre Dame rises above national scorn, and Davis becomes known outside the Midwest. In any case, I am definitely ready for some…
Back from vacation with thoughts of this, that and the other: Even as my bride and I traveled through the magnificent scenery of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, our nightly ritual was the same as that of millions of other Americans: making sure we were in front of the television to watch the Olympics. And yes, especially, Michael Phelps. Some have rushed to proclaim him the greatest Olympian of all time and, certainly, the argument can be made if you look…
Now, I feel like the unlucky one. For the past two years, I’ve been privileged to be part of monthly media tours of Lucas Oil Stadium. I was there as the concrete bowl began to take shape, and as those steel trusses that would frame the retractable roof were put into place. I was there as the brick exterior began to climb, and when the concourses were little more than freshly poured concrete and empty spaces. I was there when…
Now, I feel like the unlucky one. For the past two years, I’ve been privileged to be part of monthly media tours of Lucas Oil Stadium. I was there as the concrete bowl began to take shape, and as those steel trusses that would frame the retractable roof were put into place. I was there as the brick exterior began to climb, and when the concourses were little more than freshly poured concrete and empty spaces. I was there when…
At the same time, those same athletes, thrust into the spotlight, will find their failures magnified along with their successes. Media who normally shun gymnastics, or aquatic sports, or track and field, or cycling, or rowing, or even Taekwondo, will suddenly become instant experts, lifting up the victors and damning the vanquished. How well I know. It was my good fortune to cover three Olympics for the local daily: Seoul in 1988, Barcelona in 1992, and Atlanta in 1996. The…
It would be piling on if I were to join the chorus of displeasure and disapproval following the 15th running … and stopping … and running … and stopping … and running … and stopping … and running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Aw, the heck with that. Clear the way while I pile on. For the second time in three years, the good folks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway-without throwing a punch-received a black eye from a…
Depending upon when IBJ lands in your hands, the 15th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard will be either coming to or going from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. So let’s talk racin’. Let me begin by saying how pleased I am that Tony George took that giant leap in 1994 and welcomed NASCAR to the hallowed openwheel grounds of IMS. By most accounts, the Brickyard 400 instantly became the second-most-coveted prize on the NASCAR circuit and it has remained in that…
