The best of times

Prepare to feel the need to catch your breath.\nWhat a semester we've had here at the sports desk, trying to keep up with all of the Hoosier teams' successes.\nThe first night the two of us were in charge of putting out the sports section, we dealt with the firing of former football coach Cam Cameron. As first-time sports editors, it was difficult enough to keep track of other stories that were supposed to run, let alone deal with three surprise stories. \nBut we got that section out, and the sprint that was this semester was on. \nIt began with the return from Christmas break following the men's soccer team's appearance in the championship game -- and the heartbreaking loss. Then came the hiring of new football coach Gerry DiNardo and the men's basketball team with an incredible season and an appearance in the NCAA championship game. The women's basketball team upset the Big Ten's powerhouses on its way to a Big Ten tournament title and an NCAA appearance, the women's track and field team yielded an eighth-place NCAA finish and there was a 10th-place finish at nationals for the women's swimming and diving team. Baseball is making a run at a Big Ten title and, of course, there's the Little 500 and its endless controversy. \nWe'll give you a second to catch your breath while we catch ours.\nIt was a busy semester, and that list just highlights a few of the success stories. In between the various team accomplishments were individual accolades and awards, and our sports staff was there every step of the way, chronicling the events the best we could.\nWe hope you readers enjoyed the wild ride as much as we did. \nThere are schools where students are lucky enough to have that much success over four years, let alone one semester. And we did our best to bring you all of it as well as we could. \nWe hope that this past semester, all of us at the sports desk have provided you with the coverage you wanted. Our writers went the extra mile in every story, the photographers did their best to provide stunning visuals to accentuate every story and the two of us did our best to put a bit of polish on the final product, to make it the award-winning journalism you are used to from the IDS. \nCould any of us have asked for a better semester to break for summer on? And you seniors, could you have asked for a better semester to leave college on in terms of sports? \nWe're sure each of you will remember where you were the night the men's basketball team beat Duke. That upset alone probably would have been enough for anyone, but the team and all of the other sports teams at IU decided that wasn't enough and gave us more. \nHigh praise to all the IU teams and their successes this past semester. Here's to hoping that instead of this being just a pinnacle, it's another step up the mountain toward sports greatness. \nIt was a pleasure to bring you the sports this semester, and have a wonderful summer.