MIKE LOPRESTI: Indiana’s ties to Hall of Fame run deeper than you think
You know the usual suspects—the Woodens, Knights and Birds—but what about Fred Zollner, Chuck Taylor and all the others?
Mike Lopresti
Articles
MIKE LOPRESTI: Reaching into the vault for a reminder of what March can be
Key dates loom large in the March-madness history of six Indiana schools.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Forty years later, the heartbreak lingers from storied final four
The Andrean-New Albany and Marion-Broad Ripple matchups in 1980 provided unforgettable drama—and lasting scars.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Butler’s big run still paying off
Ten years after a gut-wrenching loss to Duke in the NCAA championship game, the campus is full of reminders that victory isn’t always measured on the scoreboard.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Forty years later, we could use another Miracle on Ice
The joy from our 1980 Olympic hockey victory over the Soviet Union put all Americans on the same team.
MIKE LOPRESTI: College basketball muscles in with big matchups
With college football winding down, we turn to the hardwood and some big games coming up for teams around the state.
Mike Lopresti: Seven-footers on the hardwood? It’s a Smits family tradition
Former Pacer Rik Smits and his son, Butler center Derrik Smits, talk basketball, family and the future.
Mike Lopresti: Emotion mixes with excitement as iconic track changes hands
Once the Hulman-George clan decided it was time to sell the family keepsake, could you think of anyone better? Anyone at all? Roger Penske has the magic name and the money and the expertise and credibility and the track record—both on and off the track.
MIKE LOPRESTI: College schedules laden with quirks
Intriguing match-ups, long stretches at home and away, and a team that plays a third of all its games before Dec. 1.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Men from golden age of IPS hoops are all on the same team now
They were fierce competitors on the court, but now they’re coming together to remember a bygone era.
MIKE LOPRESTI: At 49, Matt Painter is nearly the dean of Big Ten coaches
Thirty years after arriving on campus to play basketball, Purdue’s coach hasn’t lost his passion for the game.
Mike Lopresti: Two coaches just miles apart stand alone in 1,000-victory club
Burris volleyball coach Steve Shondell and Delta tennis coach Tim Cleland are in elite company.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Vinatieri’s story should have a happy ending
The sports world is full of examples of legends going out on top.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Sunday at the sportsbook— a new house of worship
The Indiana Grand Casino’s new sportsbook was full of high hopes and dashed dreams as Hoosiers placed their bets on the first full day of NFL action.
LOPRESTI: 20 questions about Jacoby Brissett
It’s common knowledge that he has a bazooka for an arm, came here on a trade from the New England Patriots, and now has the opportunity of his life. But there’s more.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Fever’s breakout star has a message for the downhearted
Erica Wheeler has risen from the mean streets to become one of the city’s most inspirational professional athletes.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Colts camp is like a day at the county fair
This must be said about the NFL. It can market anything—even hot August days in the sun, watching guys hitting tackling dummies. Ah, the steamy pleasures of training camp. You can sit in a beer garden at the Rams’ facility in Irvine, get a look at six Super Bowl trophies at the Patriots’ place in […]
MIKE LOPRESTI: A feast of futility: Recounting some of sports’ longest dry spells
UCLA, which plays its home games in the Rose Bowl, hasn’t won the actual Rose Bowl in 33 years, and the national No. 1 seed in college baseball hasn’t won the College World Series in this century.
MIKE LOPRESTI: IU coach embraces uphill battle
Tom Allen fearlessly tries to succeed in leading a program whose first coach, an economist, presided over a winless season. It was a sign of things to come.
Recalling 1969—a big year in space and sports
Something else was taking a giant leap in 1969 while NASA was leaving footprints on the moon. Sports. It was a monstrously landmark year, amid the glory of Apollo 11, and what’s remarkable is how many Indiana guys had their fingerprints on all the history being made.