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EYE ON THE PIE: News offers savory opportunities

I save newspaper items thinking they will make good columns. But with only one column per week, I end up with piles of good ideas. Here are four items I found interesting: Another sports opportunity: The National Lacrosse League has canceled its season. I didn’t know there was a league of 13 professional lacrosse teams. This was another instance of players and owners not being able to come to agreement on salaries. Both of those groups and the fans are…

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Fieldhouse rolls out season-ticket program: Concert offering could lure mid-size businesses

Businesses looking to entertain clients but not quite ready for a luxury box at Conseco Fieldhouse now have another option-season tickets to all the concerts. The offering, dubbed Your Exclusive Access, will be the first season-ticket package in the nation for arena concerts, said Dave Lucas, owner of Indianapolis-based entertainment firm Live-360 LLC. Live-360 is managing the program for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, which leases the fieldhouse from the city and schedules entertainment there. While season-ticket programs have been a…

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Commentary: Dungy’s book a real eye-opener

I watched the Indianapolis Colts’ Oct. 22 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars with a sense of calm I’d never experienced before while watching a Colts game. It wasn’t because I was certain they were going to win-far from it-or because I had been sedated. It was because I had just read Coach Tony Dungy’s best-seller, “Quiet Strength.” No, I wasn’t “born again” while reading. But I was given a much better idea of how Dungy works and how things are…

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SPORTS: Discipline on court, disappointment in stands

As an Indiana University alumnus, I guess you could say I’m dissed off. Disappointed. Disillusioned. Disheartened. And I know I’m not alone. There is simply no excuse, no rationale and no justification for Kelvin Sampson’s basketball program to be operating outside the NCAA rules or the NCAA sanctions he brought to Bloomington from the University of Oklahoma. I don’t care that the NCAA’s rule book is thicker than the New York City white pages. I don’t buy that those rules…

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City ready to launch bid for USA Basketball

Indianapolis is poised to launch a bid
to attract USA Basketball’s headquarters from its Colorado Springs home. The not-for-profit national governing body for men’s
and women’s basketball in the United States recently put out a request for proposals for a new headquarters city.

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SPORTS: These are the most valuable players on our team

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning made news recently when Business Week ranked him 13th among the 100 most-powerful people in sports. Not to be outdone, or to let a good idea go unstolen, here’s my list of the 25 most- influential people in Indianapolis sports. Criteria: my opinion. No. 1: Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George. With three races (including next September’s Moto GP motorcycle debut) bringing in more than $700 million annually, IMS is the elephant in the room that…

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Commentary: WIB-see moves to the FM dial

I noted the passing of WIBC-AM with more than just a little interest. Yes, my little interest-I don’t listen to commercial radio-was coupled with a heavy dose of nostalgia. This is the end of an era, for crying out loud. WIBC, which in my youth we referred to more often as “WIB-see,” was my parents’ favorite station in the morning. I equate the sound of Gary Todd’s voice with the smell of bacon and eggs on school days. I also…

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New leader aims to keep school, students growing: More businesses support private north-side institution

What began in 1994 as a six-room schoolhouse with 38 students has grown into a three-building campus with 602 pupils. The growth of the International School of Indiana, which welcomed a new headmaster this year, has been possible because of increased support from an expanding flock of businesses. They believe in its mission: to help attract scientists and executives from around the world to this community by providing a global education for their children. Before the school opened, recalled Eli…

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SPORTS: Offended by the Pacers? Watch their defense

On Media Day Oct. 1 in Conseco Fieldhouse, all was well in the Indiana Pacers’ world. New coaches. New hope. New optimism. New season. New attitude. Save poor Shawne Williams’alarm clock-and, just askin’, but when was the last time you overslept an appointment with a judge?-and the lingering legal issues still facing Jamal Tinsley and Marquis Daniels, the feeling of looking forward and a fresh start was palpable. For those of you who have not yet met, or heard speak,…

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PROFILE CAROLYN CLAY: Attorney ‘escapes’ from the infamous Rock Challenging open-water Alcatraz race gives a whole new meaning to ‘swimming with the sharks’ Editor’s Note: The original version of this story appeared in the July 11 issue of the Indiana Law

PROFILE CAROLYN CLAY Attorney ‘escapes’ from the infamous Rock Challenging open-water Alcatraz race gives a whole new meaning to ‘swimming with the sharks’ Editor’s Note: The original version of this story appeared in the July 11 issue of the Indiana Lawyer, a statewide newspaper for lawyers published by IBJ Media. Women in Business editor Della Pacheco added to the original story. Carolyn Clay has been swimming for as long as she can remember. The 29-year-old attorney at Indianapolis law firm…

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Players benched for new Pacers ads

The Indiana Pacers recently rolled out a marketing initiative that was in sharp contrast to last year’s campaign, which prominently
featured players and proclaimed, “It’s up to us.” This year’s new television, radio and print advertisements appear with not
a whisper from or mention of anyone actually wearing the blue and gold.

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Chevrolet pleased with ads, but CD sales hit pothole: Mellencamp is selling trucks, but not tunes

Hoosier rocker John Mellencamp is helping Chevrolet sell more trucks, but he’s having less luck when it comes to selling his records. In November, Mellencamp embarked on his first major commercial campaign, selling his song “Our Country” to Chevrolet for its Silverado pickup truck campaign. Since then, tens of millions of people have seen commercials-some that show Mellencamp playing guitar, while others simply play his song-during myriad collegiate and professional basketball and football games. Chevrolet officials said the commercials featuring…

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SURF THIS: On the Net: Buying and branding the Bonds ball

Faithful readers may remember that my last column was about the young man who decided to sell the record-breaking home-run baseball hit by Barry Bonds. I found the story rather telling as it dealt with human nature, our proclivity to place sports figures on pedestals (often undeservingly), and an undercurrent of the value of authenticity and integrity. Even casual sports fans are aware of the mild controversy surrounding Bonds and his suspected use of performance-enhancing drugs. A few interesting things…

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Convention faithful are sticking it out: Trade groups say perks outweigh construction hassle

The Indiana Convention Center isn’t big enough for some large trade shows, but Indianapolis’ location and hospitality are enough to keep certain customers coming back. Despite losing locally based Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association’s CEDIA Expo and California-based Performance Racing Industry’s annual show-and the estimated $45 million attendees spent each year-Indianapolis has managed to keep three other biggies. Do it Best Corp.’s twice-yearly trade show, Advanstar Communications’ Dealer Expo and the Fire Department Instructors Conference are sticking around because…

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SPORTS: Indiana’s finest embark on the trip of a lifetime

On Sept. 25, the NCAA’s Hall of Champions was a hall filled with champions. Yes, former Carmel basketball state champion, Purdue bowl champion and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Mark Herrmann was there. So were Justin Snow and a couple of his teammates from the Super Bowl champion Colts. But the champs on this day were athletes such as Sam McNew from Noblesville, Jessica Crook from Logansport, Mitch Johnson from Muncie, Danielle Burgin from Jeffersonville, and Shane Talbert from Attica. Later, at…

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SPORTS: Sadly, loyalists come to the aid of a Patriot cheater

Undoubtedly, he was caught up in his “Win-One-For-The-Gipper” moment when New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said of Bill Belichick, “We play for probably the best coach in the history of the NFL.” We’ll set aside for a moment whether Belichick can be placed above the likes of Vince Lombardi, George Halas, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Joe Gibbs or Don Shula, just to name several. And we’ll forget that Belichick wasn’t so great a coach in Cleveland, where he was…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: It’s OK for philanthropic motivations to be a little selfish

It probably goes without saying that New Yorkers can be, well, a bit difficult. As a fund-raiser for a NYC-based not-forprofit for many years, I encountered my fair share of these folks, which is one reason why I really looked forward to coming back to my home state of Indiana. Having grown up in Indiana, I knew of the kindness and generosity shown to me by neighbors, teachers-even complete strangers-but I’d never lived and worked here as an adult. More…

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IRL drops green flag on revenue-sharing plan: Series places no limits on number of teams eligible

The Indy Racing League is going where only stick-and-ball sports have gone before: revenue sharing. In a concept unique to motorsports, IRL officials have floated a plan that will guarantee teams about $1.3 million from series coffers for each car entered full time in the 16-race series. The change means the IRL could pay out $36 million to teams in 2008, $10 million more than it did through prize purses this year. Industry experts think revenue generated by the newly…

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City paves way to redevelop Bush Stadium site

Indianapolis has initiated the redevelopment process for Bush Stadium, its shuttered sports landmark. The Metropolitan Development
Commission has hired a pair of local firms for $25,000 to appraise historic Bush Stadium–a first step toward reuse or, more
likely, at least partial demolition.

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SPORTS: What are these ‘professionals’ thinking? They’re not

An open letter to the Indiana Pacers Shawne Williams (boy, are these open letters to Pacers fun): My first question, Shawne: What were you thinking? But then, it’s obvious you weren’t thinking or, if you were, it was only about yourself and not the team or town Here’s something else that probably hasn’t occurred to you: Because of you, the highly respected Donnie Walsh and one of the greatest to ever put on a basketball uniform, Larry Bird, are being…

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