Articles

SPORTS: Keady takes on a job much harder than coaching

“Nursing’s a lot harder than coaching, I can tell you that,” Keady, 70, said from his Tippecanoe County home, not far from Purdue University where the basketball court in Mackey Arena bears his name. After 25 years on the Purdue sidelines in a storied career that had almost everything except the storybook ending, Keady signed on last year as an assistant coach with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. This year, Raptors management changed and his contract was not renewed. Just as…

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Strap maker hits right chord with guitar players: Action Custom Straps’ products catch on thanks to attention from musicians like Jimmy Buffett, Keith Urban

The guitar straps Terry Misner creates for musicians worldwide are the canvas for his artwork. In his specialty, though, the tapestry is really soft leather he uses to combine comfort and custom designs for performers such as Jimmy Buffett and Keith Urban. “It’s like sewing silk rather than sewing canvas,” he said. “You can rip through canvas in a hurry, but what would you rather feel?” The 56-year-old Misner operates Action Custom Straps with wife, Dena, and daughter Nikki O’Neal….

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Carving a niche outside Louisville: Hoosier Bat Co. finds success with Major Leaguers, amateur baseball players

A three-piece wooden bat David Cook developed in 1989 became popular among professional baseball players, but ended up nearly devastating his upstart manufacturing company. Major League Baseball banned the bat just a year later after what Cook contends was a fierce lobbying effort from his largest rival, Louisville Slugger. The bat-made of ash, hickory and maple-is fused by finger jointing and remains in use at the amateur levels. The durability of the bat rivals that of an aluminum model, Cook…

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CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Colts lover gets a new hero

I was quarterback for the Colts once. I was about 9 years old and I was playing pee-wee football at Meridian Street Methodist Church. As all the kids gathered to be selected for a team on the first morning, I somehow finagled my way on to the Colts. I had to, because the Baltimore Colts were my favorite NFL team at the time. My hero was Johnny Unitas, thought by some even today to be the best quarterback ever to…

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Hoosier Tire still racing: For nearly a half-century, Lakeville company has competed with the big boys

When the rubber meets the road, auto racing experts say there are few-if any-companies that outperform Lakeville-based Hoosier Racing Tire. Hoosier tires, industry sources said, are equal to their better-known brethren in racing-related sales and on-track performance. “This company has gone head-to-head with Goodyear on the biggest of all racing circuits,” said Dick Berggren, editor of Speedway Illustrated and a retired racer. “I can’t think of a business where the costs of entry are steeper or the level of technology…

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Bar-restaurant is graduating to the big city: Scotty’s Brewhouse opens first Indianapolis location, branching out from its roots in Hoosier college towns

Scott Wise compares his Scotty’s Brewhouse expansion to a washed-up college band that finally hits it big after 10 years. If that’s the case, his fourth location-and first in Indianapolis-just might go platinum. Before it opened Oct. 30, Wise estimated the 96th Street restaurant would gross $3.5 million in its first year; it’s already on track to reach $5 million. Wise, 33, tapped the college-town markets of Muncie, Bloomington and West Lafayette before taking on Indianapolis. He hopes the name…

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Pacers seek bigger share of NBA revenue

Indiana Pacers co-owner Herb Simon has thrown his support behind an effort to pressure National Basketball Association Commissioner
David Stern to implement more aggressive revenue sharing among NBA franchises.

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SPORTS: Butler’s Bulldogs rule-and so does Marvin Harrison

Talk about the straw that stirs the drink. That youngster gives maximum effort every second. And while it’s early, I’d stack Graves and his running mate, Michael Green, against any backcourt tandem in the country. Though they couldn’t come out and say it, the NCAA folks who now run the Preseason NIT had to be inwardly thrilled to watch Butler and Gonzaga University reach the championship game on the Madison Square Garden stage. Their rosters are filled with players who…

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Sympathy for New Orleans may ruin Indy’s Super Bowl bid

The stiff competition facing Indianapolis’ bid for the 2011 Super Bowl just got stiffer. Besides Glendale, Ariz., and Dallas, New Orleans officials have told NFL officials and team owners they want to host the championship game again as part of the city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

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SPORTS: Forget today-for now; Let’s talk Pacers history

In honor of the Indiana Pacers’ 40th anniversary season, let’s stroll down memory lane and gather some all-time picks: MVP: Reggie Miller First team: center Mel Daniels; forwards Roger Brown and George McGinnis; guards Reggie Miller and Vern Fleming Second team: center Rik Smits; forwards Billy Knight and Chuck Person; guards Mark Jackson and Don Buse Third team: center Jermaine O’Neal; forwards Dale Davis and Herb Williams; guards Freddie Lewis and Johnny Davis Best player that would have made the…

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Mellencamp a reluctant pitchman in Chevy ad

U.S. celebrities making pitches for large corporations is nothing new. But John Mellencamp has been long known as an artistic purist with a disdain for commercialism. His debut this fall as a pitchman for Chevrolet’s Silverado pickup truck has surprised many and touched off a torrent of criticism.

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Schools warm to economic development: Colleges crank out programs to fit latest initiatives

Academic purists often hold contempt for politicians and executives seeking help with economic development initiatives. It doesn’t take a political science degree to wonder if someone is trying to stoke votes, ambitions or profits-on the cheap. But in Indiana, more colleges are tailoring their curriculum to support economic development priorities, realizing what’s good for the region can be good for their enrollment. “An increasing number of universities don’t view themselves as ivory towers anymore,” said Uday Sukhatme, executive vice chancellor…

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SPORTS: You can’t fathom ‘the Luke’ until you’ve been inside

Growing up, my brothers and I had the usual constructiontype toys: Lincoln Logs, an Erector Set, Tinker Toys and-if memory serves me-this kit from Kenner you could use to assemble the plastic skyscraper of your imagination. Among the things I tried to build, however, were gymnasiums and stadiums, because I always was fascinated with places that brought together large numbers of people. But since I had the attention span of a gnat and the conceptual engineering skills of an eventual…

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BRIAN WILLIAMS Commentary: Indy is ready (and waiting) for rapid transit

A new survey demonstrates yet again that community leaders recognize it is time to fix traffic congestion, improve air quality, reduce aggregate fuel use and enhance area accessibility. The study was taken last summer of 377 members of the Lacy Leadership Association, a group of local opinion leaders, by Walker Information, a local market research firm. More than 90 percent of survey respondents indicated that rapid transit is an important component of the solution to these problems. In addition, respondents…

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Speedway’s windfall leads to speculation: Questions arise about possible new hotel, turn-two suite upgrades and acquisition of adjacent land

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s announcement this month that it would sell its stake in Chicagoland Speedway for $69 million has racing industry experts wondering if the famed Brickyard is planning an expansion. “There are a number of things [IMS President] Tony George could use that money for,” said Dennis McAlpine, a New York-based financial analyst covering motorsports and entertainment. “That’s not to say he’s hurting for cash, but I believe he has projects on his plate.” IMS and Daytona Beach,…

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SPORTS: Glimmers of hope give Painter a long honeymoon

In terms of a transition game, Purdue University’s Matt Painter hasn’t yet been able to get out on the figurative fast break. First, there was the year he spent as associate head coach during Gene Keady’s long goodbye, when the Boilers struggled to a woeful 7-21 mark. Then, last season, when Painter assumed full control of the Boilermakers, injuries and suspensions factored heavily into a 9-19 record and a last-place, 3-13 finish in the Big Ten. And this year? With…

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Massive hotel project could advance without city help: Redevelopment would be on a smaller scale

Land near Victory Field could get hundreds of additional hotel rooms even if the developers that control the site don’t receive city incentives they’re seeking for a huge convention hotel project. Merrillville-based White Lodging Services Corp. and Indianapolis-based REI Real Estate Services are asking the city to invest $45 million to $55 million toward a $250 million campus of hotels on land that’s now home to a 235-room Courtyard by Marriott and a TGI Friday’s. If they don’t win the…

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SPORTS: IU’s Sampson prepares for his toughest audience

CHICAGO-Yes, Kelvin Sampson has the job. It’s been his since March. Nonetheless, the audition begins next week in Conseco Fieldhouse, when his IU Hoosiers basketball team opens the preseason NIT against Lafayette. Sampson will need to be into multi-tasking. Coach his team. Rise to stratospheric expectations. Restore reputations. Quiet the critics who can’t get over the fact that he arrived with baggage that included more than his clothes. And, just win, baby. That will take care of virtually all of…

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