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.
Lopresti/Sports
Articles
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: This coach has 37 championships and helped restore the Velodrome
Marian’s cycling program flies under the radar, but it’s a national powerhouse thanks to Dean Peterson.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Before the postseason, the awards go to …
The full story of the 2019 baseball season has yet to be written, but here’s a team-by-team look at highlights and lowlights that aren’t likely to change.
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.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Network offers sports buffet
Indiana’s version of ESPN operates out of an unassuming building in the tiny town of Mulberry.
MIKE LOPRESTI: From Notre Dame to Marian, your guide to the state’s best football games
The college season is about to kick off, and there’s more on the line than you might imagine.
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.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Remembering Indiana’s tennis giant
Todd Witsken took down Connors, McEnroe and the record for Wimbledon’s longest match
MIKE LOPRESTI: And this one belongs to … Marty Brennaman
The Hall of Fame Cincinnati Reds announcer, about to hang it up after 46 seasons, reflects on how it all started.
MIKE LOPRESTI: NBA second-rounders start with a chip on their shoulders
Purdue’s Carsen Edwards is the latest to join the club that no one wants to belong to.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Yankee legend Mattingly reflects on a high school baseball classic
His team lost what many call Indiana’s best state championship game ever.