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(04/25/12 3:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>What does it mean to be a Hoosier? There is no simple answer.There are many correct answers that deal with the student body, student activities and a variety of other things, but I’ve always answered this question in the realm of IU athletics. During the past four years, I’ve discovered what it means to be a Hoosier.When I arrived in Bloomington in August 2008, I don’t believe I had ever watched an IU sporting event. I knew I wanted to attend a school with strong athletic traditions, and as far as I knew, IU was a school like that. What I experienced during the next four years proved this was entirely true. Being a Hoosier means having the pride and the passion to support different sports teams through good times and through bad times. These past four years, being a Hoosier was always easy in Bloomington, but outside this city it takes on a whole new meaning. The way people talk about IU athletics is something extraordinary. People comment on the type of fans we have — the ones that never give up. Everyone asks what it’s like to be in Bloomington during big games. The words to describe that feeling do not do the environment justice. No words can describe the pride I feel when I get to cheer on the Hoosiers. Originally, IU athletics to me was basketball. That was what I cared about. Throughout the past four years, I developed an appreciation for several more teams. That’s what it means to be a Hoosier. It means appreciating all that our athletics department has to offer. The slogan “24 Sports, One Team” exists for a reason. We are one team. We are all Hoosiers. We all compete for a common goal of being one of the best athletics programs in the Big Ten and in the country.Hoosiers don’t ignore the baseball games on a Thursday afternoon or a track and field event in the spring. Hoosiers go to these events and relish in the chance to see any of their teams compete. Hoosiers defend their teams, no matter the circumstances. It could have been very easy to turn our backs on the rebuilding process for the basketball team, but we didn’t. We stuck with the team, and we were rewarded this year. That is what Hoosiers do. Hoosiers are eternal optimists. We have to be. These past few years haven’t been easy for Hoosier fans, but we trust the right things are being done to get our programs where they need to be. What it means to be a Hoosier is not a question I can answer for everyone. It has a different meaning for each and every person. Being a Hoosier is something I am extremely proud of. It is something I will take with me long after I leave this campus as a student for the last time in a few short days. I am a Hoosier, and I cannot thank this school enough for making me one.
(04/18/12 3:27pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Little 500 is an intramural sport. OK, now that I’ve stated that fact, I’m going to tell you all the reasons why, for the athletes competing in the race itself, it is far from an intramural sport. IU has three types of sports: Division-I, club and intramural. Intramural sports are supposed to be at the bottom of the totem pole. They are the sports that don’t take much practice and are done simply for fun and possibly a T-shirt.If you have been on this campus for more than a year, have ridden in the Little 500 or know someone who has, you’ve seen all the ways this sporting event defies the definition of an intramural sport.Let’s start with the training. Each team has different training regimens. The teams that train the longest begin when school starts in August. Returning riders would probably say they never stop training.The fall season is the lighter of the two training periods. Riders during the fall might ride around 14 hours per week. The spring brings a more intense type of training. The hours themselves might be shorter, but physicality of the training is that of a D-I athlete.The riders give up their spring breaks to stay in Bloomington to train once the track opens. Many teams also give up part of their winter breaks to go on training trips in warmer climates. They give up a lot during Little 500 week itself. When their friends are out partying all day and night, these riders are getting in last-chance training sessions and going to bed early.The financial commitment is also great, more on the level of club sport participation. I’ve seen people spend thousands of dollars on bikes without even knowing for sure if they would ride in the race. Teams pay for coaches, places to stay on training trips and other equipment. Independent teams have to find many ways to obtain funding for this while fraternity and sorority teams might get more financial help from their houses. It is easy to say that this race is being done for more than winning a T-shirt. Winning the Little 500 is the experience of a lifetime. To win the race means to be forever in the history books of the world’s Greatest College Weekend. It means winning one of the most exciting cycling events in the country. It means seeing the hard work and training pay off. The Little 500 is so much more than an intramural sport, but keeping the race in that category makes this weekend everything that it is special for. Those involved race for pride. They don’t race for scholarship money or pro contracts. They race because they love to ride, love IU and love the Little 500. If they were riding for something else, it would never be the same.We all know these riders deserve credit for what they’ve done. They deserve our highest level of respect.
(04/18/12 1:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Spring is in full swing, and the school year is quickly coming to an end. This means there are just a couple of more weeks to get your fix of college sports until August. It’s a good thing there are still plenty of opportunities to check out a few more IU games before leaving Bloomington for the summer. BaseballBaseball has one last home stand to catch before the school year ends, unless you plan on sticking around for the second week in May. The Hoosiers start a three-game series with Georgia Southern on Friday and end it Sunday. With the Little 500 this weekend, I suggest Sunday at 1 p.m. for the game.They close out this nine-game home stand with one game against Miami of Ohio at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 24.Men’s SoccerAlthough the men’s soccer team’s official season is in the fall, spring soccer always brings some good competition to Bloomington. The best annual spring game is still yet to come. The Hoosiers will face off against the U-20 Mexican National Team at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 29.This game has proven to be a fun one during the past couple of years, and it is worth it to head to Jerry Yeagley Field to check it out. Soccer is more popular in other countries than it is here, so American soccer enthusiasts love the opportunity to face off against a foreign foe. This is always a good game to check out whether you’re a die-hard soccer fan or not. SoftballLike baseball, softball has one last home series during the school year. IU has a Big Ten matchup against Northwestern on Saturday and Sunday. The team will play a doubleheader Sunday afternoon and will try to get more than .500 in Big Ten play after the weekend ends. The Hoosiers are in the middle of the Big Ten season, and this final home series with students in Bloomington could be a turning point for the team. Men’s and Women’s Swimming and DivingThe 2012 Olympic Games are just around the corner, and some of the best parts happen during the swimming competitions. It’s a good thing we don’t have to wait until July to get our swimming fix. The Indiana University Invitational will take place April 27-29.The invitational will give you a taste of the some of the top swimming talent in the country. The event will go pretty much all day throughout the weekend, so stop by the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center at the SRSC and catch the team in action. With these events and many more, including tennis and track and field, there is no excuse not to have one last chance to cheer on the Hoosiers before saying goodbye to Bloomington for a while. August is a long way away, so don’t let these last opportunities pass you by.
(04/11/12 3:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If there is one thing Hoosiers don’t associate with spring, it’s football. Spring to most Hoosier fans means Little 500, baseball and spring soccer games.Regardless of what pops into our heads, there is no denying that spring ball is an important time for all football programs, and spring football is officially here. Saturday marks the annual Cream and Crimson Spring Game at Memorial Stadium. This is when the community and fans can rally around the team and look forward to what’s to come next season. Excuse me if I’m not the first waiting in line to rush into Memorial Stadium on Saturday. I don’t doubt that people will be there, but when it comes to students, I would say most of us don’t really have much hope for the football team right now. In the past four years, I saw the football team go from bad to worse.This past year’s 1-11 record was an actual laughing point to my friends in other Big Ten schools. I’d tell them IU isn’t a football school and all the other excuses, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit I sure wish we were. IU Coach Kevin Wilson came into Bloomington in a blaze of glory this past year. He seemed like a real go-getter and someone who was willing to do what was necessary to change the football program. The T-shirt slogan “Win with Wilson” looks a tad bit ironic now, doesn’t it?Granted, Wilson was not coaching his own players this past season, and he is stepping up the recruiting game, but how are you supposed to get a good football player to commit to a 1-11 team? It looks like the answer is to promise you are changing the fundamental structure of the program. Wilson looks to change the Hoosiers’ typical offensive and defensive structures to his style. What the Hoosiers need to do is win games. They have had a lot of close calls with a lot of good teams throughout the years but no actual additions to the win column. People complain that the students don’t support the football team and that our seats are always empty, but you can’t blame people for not wanting to watch a bad team. Wilson will have to prove to students that he is making changes to start getting them back in the seats. The obvious change is winning, but the other might be getting to know the student body better. Give the students a face of the team that they can recognize around campus. Give us what we really want to cheer for. Every Big Ten game will be David vs. Goliath, so play that up and work it to our advantage somehow.The fate of the next football season lies with the players and the coaches. They have to work together to succeed, even if that means a many changes. Even though I won’t be attending the spring game, I can’t help but have hope in the Hoosiers. We never really know what any of our teams are capable of. Let’s hope this spring season and the offseason were used well and that this fall, the football team will surprise us all.
(04/04/12 2:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Athletics in the history of IU have always been strong. They were always respectable, high-class programs for all sports. About five to seven years ago, that wasn’t necessarily the case. IU athletes and athletic programs weren’t being kept to the academic and moral standards that Hoosiers had been in the past. This all became clear with the Kelvin Sampson incident, but there were other cracks in the IU Athletics Department that needed to be fixed, as well. The hiring of IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass helped change all of that. Glass was hired in fall 2008, and his job took effect Jan. 1, 2009. As an IU alumnus, he had seen the proud traditions from the past, but as athletics director he did several things to bring IU athletics back positively into the national spotlight.He has not been alone in the work he has done since 2009, but he put many measures in place to help get athletics on track, including cutting his senior staff when he took his office. This helped save money for the department when revenue sports were hurting. He also increased the numbers on staff in the area of compliance and academics. This helped to make sure that IU got back on the track it was on before, with an equal emphasis on student and athlete. Outside the office, Glass worked with the community to secure the largest donation in the athletic department’s history. The $15 million donation from the Cook family provided funds for Cook Hall to be built.The state-of-the-art practice facility gave IU men’s basketball Coach Tom Crean real progress to show to recruits. Venues like Cook Hall bring in the top talent.The baseball and softball teams will also have something to show in the name of progress since Glass has been at the helm. He helped ensure the creation of the new baseball and softball facility, giving those teams to something to attract recruits with. He played a pivotal role in organizing the $3 million deal for the IU vs. Penn State football game at Fed-Ex Field in Washington.Glass hasn’t just made the pleasant decisions. He has fired two coaches in three years: former football Coach Bill Lynch and former women’s basketball Coach Felisha Legette-Jack.These choices weren’t easy, but what he did was right for the future of those programs. The two coaches chosen as replacements will put the programs back on track; it will just take them some time.Glass did not do all of this work on his own, but he was the force behind it all. He’s been willing to do whatever it takes to make IU athletics proud. Next time you see Glass riding around campus in the Fred-Mobile, give him a shout out. Tell him thanks for getting IU back where it belongs.
(03/28/12 1:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There is no Eric Young. There is no Caitlin Van Kooten. This year’s Little 500 is about the team, and that is how the race is supposed to be. During the past few years, a few riders who far exceeded the skill and talent of other riders in the field have dominated the Little 500. There was little doubt in anyone’s mind last year that both Teter and Cutters would win the Little 500. None of this will be the case this year. Yes, there are a few notable riders, but not one who will be able to ride the majority of the race for his or her team. Little 500 Qualifications was proof of this. The teams as a whole improved. Each rider on the teams became faster, and the times as a whole became faster and closer together. Qualifications in 2012 helped to show this could be anyone’s race. Beta Theta Pi took the pole with a time of 2:21.05. That is four seconds faster than Sigma Nu’s pole this past year, but that wasn’t the most interesting comparison in the two years’ final times. In the men’s 2011 qualifications, just fewer than 15 seconds were between the pole time and the final qualifier. This year, it was about 11 seconds that separated pole and final qualifier. That could make for a much faster race for all of the teams this year. The winner of the race will be the team whose members can work together the best and work with the others in the field to stay safe on the track. This year’s Little 500 will take the race back to the roots and the fundamentals on which it was developed.The first races weren’t developed to showcase one rider. The race was developed to let student organizations compete together and ride for the pride, not for a potential pro-cycling contract. I’m sure that, within the next few years, another group of riders will come up that blows other competitors out of the water, and again we will see a race that basically has a winner before it begins. Until that happens, let’s enjoy what we have this year. Get riding, Bloomington. Twenty-three days and counting.
(03/21/12 2:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The right decision isn’t always the easiest. It almost never is. Thankfully, Athletics Director Fred Glass was able to make the right decision in the case of the women’s basketball program. On March 12, Glass announced Felisha Legette-Jack would no longer be the coach of the women’s basketball team. This happened after her third-straight losing season and the team’s worst Big Ten record in its history.Glass could have stuck with the contract extension that was given in good faith last year, but instead, he realized the issues in the program and let Legette-Jack go before her contract was complete.Now that Legette-Jack is out, what does this mean? It means the committee put in place to find a new head coach has to find someone with a spark, someone who is willing to come in and build a program on his or her own. But what is the most important thing this coach needs to be able to do? Stop me if you have heard this: take back the recruits in the state of Indiana. Much like men’s basketball, Indiana has a rich tradition of women’s basketball, and there have to be women who would be proud to represent their state. IU currently has three Indiana natives on its roster. Purdue has six.IU also has a roster with junior college transfers and two players from Latvia. These players have all been great for the program, but it is much harder to develop someone who is playing junior college ball compared to someone straight out of high school. The new coach needs to find players who are willing to learn and work hard to get better. The new coach also has to have the personality to bring people into Assembly Hall for women’s basketball games. Many times, I’ve walked into a women’s game and have actually been able to count the number of people in the gym. Some people blame students and the committee for not supporting the team, but the truth is that during these last few seasons, there was really nothing to cheer for. The new coach has to figure out how to do that. The best way? Win basketball games. Unlike the two most recent hires for IU, football Coach Kevin Wilson and men’s basketball Coach Tom Crean, this new coach won’t have as much pressure to win right away. This coach will have the chance to work out kinks and recruit his or her own players to come in and help develop. This could make the job for whomever the new coach might be. Regardless of whom is hired, it needs to be someone who can find a way to win. I won’t get to see it while I’m in Bloomington, but I hope that won’t be the case for the next group.
(03/07/12 4:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>$960. That is the amount I spent for four years of student tickets for Indiana men’s basketball games.The seniors who spent that much through their four years are part of a distinctive group. They are those willing to believe in an idea. We had no idea when that idea, later named “The Movement,” would come to fruition, but we were willing to wait. I can only assume that, coming into this season, those who had tickets for four years were part of a smaller number than in the past. These people, including myself, saw something in Assembly Hall through those years that no one had. Purchasing those tickets freshman year was one of the best decisions I ever made. I shared in something that has never happened before. I saw a historic program do something no one thought they could: return to greatness. Those tickets came with some memories that won’t be on the highlight reel, but that I, and many others, probably won’t forget. It was the time in 2008 when IU beat IU-Purdue University Indianapolis with a last-second free throw by guard Daniel Moore. After that game, IU Coach Tom Crean grabbed the microphone from announcer Chuck Crabb and thanked the half-empty Assembly Hall. He thanked us for staying and cheering. That was the first time I felt like a Hoosier. It was the time we finished the same season with only one win in the final 21 games. It was the time we all chose to buy tickets for a second season when everyone else said they were a waste of money.It was the time I got to sit in the front row for the Maryland game in the 2009-10 season. It was the atmosphere that reminded me why I was willing to wait.It was the confusion when a small amount of students rushed the court after the win against Minnesota that year. As some students were on the court, many of us in our seats wondered if this could be as good as it would get for us.It was buying tickets for a third season with the promise that help was on its way. It was when we finally beat a ranked opponent at Assembly Hall with a win against Illinois. This time, when students rushed the floor, I was right there with them. Who could blame us? It was the win we had hoped for after three years of frustration. It was the crowd that ensued in the stairwells and ramps of Assembly Hall after that same win. As Crean moved through the building thanking everyone, we followed him knowing we wouldn’t want to forget this. It was when my ticket group decided to camp out for a sub-.500 team for 36 hours before the Purdue game. We knew there wouldn’t be a ton of people in line, but we wanted to start something. We wanted to be the first campers for seats, and we were. Accomplishing that meant everything. It was buying tickets for this season. For the first time, I wasn’t called crazy. Other people actually wanted to get tickets and wanted to know who I was sitting with. I told them the same people I experienced everything IU basketball with for the past three years. People remember everything that happened this season. People were finally back in Assembly Hall the way they were supposed to be. There is still that special group, though, those that gave four years watching the team through the good and bad. As I sat behind the basket with my group after Sunday’s game, we stared out onto the court. We knew what it was like to sit in those seats when no one was cheering or smiling. The change in Assembly Hall from 2008 to today was something that cannot be described. For those who experienced it, we will never forget it.
(02/29/12 4:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It’s a pity when good things go bad. Usually, there is a cause for the turn, but what happens when good just goes bad for no reason? Apparently, for the women’s basketball program, nothing. The Hoosiers are 6-23 and won their sole conference game Senior Night. After a completely dismal season, it appears nothing will change. The reason for this is a contract extension that was given to IU Coach Felisha Legette-Jack in July this past year.This was Legette-Jack’s sixth season as a Hoosier, and the 2012-13 season was supposed to be her last, but Athletic Director Fred Glass extended her contract with an additional two years through the 2014-15 season.It wasn’t always this bad. Actually, the first half of Legette-Jack’s career here was pretty good. She had three straight seasons with Women’s National Invitational Tournament berths, and two of those seasons also came with winning Big Ten Conference records. After that, it was all downhill. The women’s basketball team has not had a winning season since the last WNIT berth. The 2009-10 team finished 14-16, the 2010-11 team went 9-20 and this season’s team has a 6-23 record. Something is wrong with that. As a coach stays at a school longer, the team is supposed to get better, not worse. The coach is supposed to be able to solidify her recruiting process and coach her own players for four full years. Three straight WNIT appearances should not turn into three dismal seasons.Anyone who knows Legette-Jack or has heard her speak about her teams knows she stresses more than just winning.She wants her players to grow, develop and become contributing members of the community, but what’s wrong with winning while doing that? The excuses just aren’t good enough anymore.This past season, the Hoosiers were down an injured then-junior Sasha Chaplin, and then-junior Lindsay Enterline left the program. Yes, this hurt them, but season leadership should have been able to help. This season, I’ve heard rumblings about it being a young team. I have to strongly disagree with that statement. There are two seniors playing in every game, three if you count Chaplin, and leadership from junior Aulani Sinclair and other juniors. This is not a young team, and this is not a young coaching staff. Change is needed. In the final home game press conference, Legette-Jack thanked the media for not being too negative about the team or the season, but now that it’s coming to an end, something needs to be said. With the decline in play from Legette-Jack’s team, a contract extension should have never been given until after this season was done. If Glass had possessed the hindsight of this season, I’d hope he would not make the offer again.Coaches are supposed to get better, not worse. Staffs are supposed to gel, and players are supposed to get better within the program they have played in for four years. None of these things are happening. This year could have been the last year for Legette-Jack at IU, but it probably won’t be. If there is one thing Glass stresses, it is the importance of contracts. In this case, maybe the record should speak louder than words on paper.
(02/22/12 3:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Can you feel it? It’s coming. With every passing day during second semester, plus the warming of weather, we get closer to the World’s Greatest College Weekend: Little 500.Before the green flags can wave and the women’s and men’s races can start, several other spring cycling events must lead the way. The first, and possibly most important, is Qualifying Day, or Quals, and it is just 31 days away. “Quals is the kickoff to everything,” said senior and Wing-It Cycling rider Abigail Legg. “It is the time to look at your teammates and say, ‘Let’s do this.’”Quals means quite a bit to the riders and the fans. It is the first official spring cycling event, and it sets the stage for who will be the teams to beat in the final race. It is also the first time the rookies compete at the track.“I think Quals is one of the most exciting, and also nerve-wracking, days for riders and fans,” said senior and Kappa Alpha Theta rider Amy Dickman. “Quals are the official kickoff to the race and perfect for getting people excited.”If you have never attended any part of the qualifying event, it is worth your while to check it out. Each team that wishes to compete in the Little 500 must participate to be considered for the race.Only 33 teams qualify for the men’s and women’s race. It is usually the men’s teams that are actually cut from the race, but this year, women’s teams will be cut from the race, as well. The teams only have three attempts to successfully complete the laps before being disqualified.It is four laps around the track with an exchange in between each lap. The exchanges during this event, much like the exchanges during the race, are always hazardous and can stop teams from qualifying or move their spots far down the ladder.The excitement that comes with qualifying your team also comes with the pressure to live up to expectations. Riders will be the first to tell you a good starting position is key. “Quals, or ‘qualidays,’ as I like to call it, is one of my favorite days in the spring,” junior and Delta Gamma rider Emily Loebig said. “It’s important to get a good starting position to stay safe in the race.” The starting position in a crowded race is important. It also helps to set up which teams can work together to have a successful race. Depending on the weather on race day, being stuck in a pack in the middle could be dangerous and result in crashes. Whether or not Quals is an accurate projection of how race day will end is debatable. The most important part of Quals is the excitement it brings to the campus, and it gives students the chance to look toward the best season in Bloomington: Little 500 season.“Quals condenses all of the speed, emotion and inebriated fans of race day into less than two and a half minutes,” said senior and Beta Theta Pi rider Eric Anderson. “What’s not to like?”
(02/15/12 4:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Now is the time of year in which both winter and spring sports are in action. Wrestling and basketball are coming to an end while baseball and softball are just starting up. Here’s a rundown of all sports currently playing, sans men’s basketball.Sport Water PoloRecord 8-3Why You Should Care The No. 9 water polo team is the highest-ranked team at IU right now. Although you won’t be able to catch them in action in Bloomington until the Divisional Championships in April, the team deserves some attention. The Hoosiers have six more matches scheduled against ranked teams. Sport Men’s TennisRecord 6-3Catch Them In Action March 3Why You Should Care The men’s tennis team is currently ranked No. 25. The team has yet to win a road match, but it will need to improve this situation if the players hope to achieve their goal of being ranked individually at the beginning of the Big Ten season. The fact that the team is ranked without having many singles or doubles players in the top 100 rankings shows the balance the Hoosiers have this season.Sport Women’s TennisRecord 7-1Catch Them In Action Feb. 19Why You Should Care Junior Leslie Hureau has been a standout for the Hoosiers to start the season. She is playing strongly in the No. 1 singles spot and continues to lead the team after earning singles All-American honors last season. The Hoosiers are currently on a seven-match win streak. Sport WrestlingRecord 11-7Why You Should Care The wrestling team has had a solid year, and the end of February means the Big Ten Championships are right around the corner. The Hoosiers have one more match against No. 18 Northwestern before traveling to West Lafayette, Ind., on March 3. The tournament will be tough because eight Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25. After the Big Ten Championships, individuals will find out if they have qualified for NCAA berths. Sport Men’s GolfCatch Them In Action April 7Why You Should Care The men’s golf team had a strong fall season that has helped it gain high seeds in the upcoming spring tournaments. If the team can continue its high level of play, it could be a strong competitor in the Big Ten tournament and NCAA championships, which take place in the spring for both men’s and women’s golf. Sport BaseballCatch Them In Action March 21Why You Should Care Baseball is just fun to watch. That’s why everyone should care, and we happen to have a decent baseball team. It’s easy to walk up Fee Lane and catch a full game or just a few innings during a warm spring day. The baseball team looks competitive again this year, so we will just have to wait and see the record they put together before their opening game in Bloomington. The team will be playing in the warmer weather until the middle of March, when it will take on Eastern Kentucky.Sport Women’s BasketballRecord 5-20Catch Them in Action Feb. 19Why You Should Care OK, I know a 5-20 women’s basketball team on a 12-game losing streak isn’t the most exciting thing to look forward to. The women’s team only has two home games left and is still looking for its first Big Ten win. Just take the trip to Assembly Hall on Sunday and see them at least once before you graduate.
(02/08/12 4:31am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It has been a long time coming. The sign has said “Coming Soon” for years now. People inside and outside of IU’s baseball and softball programs having been waiting for construction to start on their new facility. Although no dirt has been thrown yet, the athletic department took a big step with the release of artist renderings Jan. 27. This picture depicts a new, $19.8 million facility that will replace the current fields on Fee Lane.The stadium will clearly be an upgrade from the current fields. The construction is supposed to start in the spring, but as many of those waiting know, nothing is set in stone. These new fields have been talked about in recruiting trips for years. Every year that I have been a student, I’ve heard that next year construction will start, and I’m sure the players are the same way.The artist drawings make the plans seem more real than they have in recent memory. The plans were officially approved Aug. 19, 2011. It was a long road to get there. This was a project that was on Athletics Director Fred Glass’ desk since he took the job and was in the works several years before that. “The new baseball/softball facility will allow both teams to compete at the highest level ... and ultimately delivering on a promise made to both programs several years ago,” Glass said in a press release.The promise made to these two programs is part of a bigger development for the overall athletic department. It is a change that will alter the athletic venues and the campus.Moving the baseball and softball fields is part of the University’s master plan to consolidate the athletic facilities and support the new North Woodlawn Avenue and Alumni Walk corridor.The Woodlawn Avenue and Alumni Walk corridor are part of the proposed plans to make certain streets pedestrian-only and to make the walk to Memorial Stadium and Assembly Hall safer and easier.In my four years at IU, I’ve seen new buildings and new classrooms but nothing that seems drastically different. These changes to the athletic complexes in preparation of the pedestrian walkway could be the first.The baseball and softball teams’ projects are becoming more real because they are part of a bigger plan. This bigger plan will give the teams amazing facilities, but a lot can be said for leaving their current location.It was always so easy to walk on a Wednesday afternoon for a game. Freshmen could just pop out of their dorms, and students could stop in while waiting for buses home. It was just an easy walk up Fee to catch a game on a warm day. No, the new facilities aren’t that much farther, but I have a feeling it will put the team a little bit further from the minds of students who casually dropped in for a game.When the new fields are done, they will be state of the art. Whether that is for the 2013 season or some other time in the future, I hope the baseball and softball teams receive what they were promised. Until the move does happen, the freshman women in Briscoe, Foster and the highest floors of McNutt Quad can rest easy. The baseball team will be practicing outside our windows for at least the rest of this season.
(02/01/12 3:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Today is National Signing Day for college football.At the beginning of the school year, this day looked like it could have been one of the best signing days for IU in recent memory. We were supposed to have the No. 1 pro-style high-school quarterback, Gunner Kiel, in our recruiting class.As most people probably now know, that is not happening.The 2011 football season started with nothing but hope and high expectations. A new coach was supposed to invigorate a football program that hadn’t accomplished much since the first-year former coach Bill Lynch took over and the Hoosiers went to the Insight Bowl. Expectations were not met. IU’s football team was a disgrace. The team won just one game. They let three teams score more than 50 points and, at one point, lost to the team with the then-worst defense in NCAA Division-I football.If I were Gunner Kiel, I would have decommitted, too. Can anyone really blame him? He could have gone anywhere, but he was, at one point, willing to come to IU. There must have been something there to draw him, but the lackluster performance on the field turned him and, probably, other recruits away. Now, the Hoosiers have another chance to recharge the football team. Today, instead of Gunner Kiel, the Hoosiers will add two different quarterbacks to their roster. The first is Nathan Sudfeld from Modesto, Calif. According to Rivals.com, he is a three-star recruit. The other quarterback is Cameron Coffman, who comes from a junior college.Clearly, neither of these players has the immediate potential for effect like Kiel could have. Maybe they will come in with a chip on their shoulder knowing that even though they weren’t the first choice, they can still make a difference. As of Tuesday, IU had 25 members in the 2012 recruiting class, and unless IU Coach Kevin Wilson erased their memories of last year’s football season, they probably know what they are getting themselves into.These high-school seniors and junior college transfers know they are coming into a program that needs help and guidance. We should hope they are willing to take whatever this coaching staff has to say to heart and make the changes that are necessary. Those changes can’t just be put on the shoulders of the new kids. Unfortunately, there is a culture of losing when it comes to IU football. There is no way to avoid this situation or pretend it isn’t true. Every season students, alumni and fans hope this will be the season the Hoosiers make it to a bowl game. They hope this is the season that watching IU on the football field isn’t painful, but exciting. That change was supposed to come last year when we brought in a new coach, but it didn’t. It might take a few more years, and truthfully, it might be worth the wait. IU basketball took four years to turn the situation around, and we all know football has much farther to go than basketball did. Maybe this signing class will be the one to change it. We can’t know for sure, but starting today and until Sept. 1, we can hope that it is.
(01/25/12 5:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At every basketball game, football game or athletic promotional event, there is something constant: the cheerleaders. The cheerleaders dressed in red and white — a staple at a school with no mascot — are now National Champions, as well. On Jan. 14, the Crimson all-female squad won the UCA College National Championship. That’s right. IU has a National Championship team on the campus again, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say many people didn’t even notice.How could this be? Shouldn’t we all get to see the talents of this team? What if I told you that we already do?It appears that this is the case. After speaking with IU Coach Julie Horine, it became more apparent that we do get to see the skills that helped this squad achieve what they have been working toward.“From a coaching standpoint, everyone has seen those skills at every game, so I just don’t think they notice them in the same context,” Horine said.Those kicks, flips and lifts do not come easy. Even though the sideline game cheering isn’t the real athletic part of the sport, it doesn’t mean members of both the all-female and the co-ed teams aren’t athletes. These teams practice three days a week, plus open gym times, and participate in all the home games and PR events for the IU Athletics Department. That’s a full-time commitment and comes with some of the same sacrifices that other student athletes make. Then always comes the next question: Is cheerleading a sport? The answer to that is a little bit gray, and that seems to be okay with the cheerleaders and the coaches. “Do I believe that cheerleading is a sport? Not necessarily,” Horine said. “What you see at a game is an athletic activity, but what the kids did last weekend at Orlando would be a sport.”That statement seems to be what most people would agree with. Cheering on the sidelines doesn’t make the entire squad athletes, but the commitment and desire the teams showed all season make them athletes.It took 12 years for the all-female squad to win a National Championship and beat out the best cheer squads in the country. The all-female team had been in the top four for the past six years, but the focus of this year’s team put it over the edge. The all-female squad wasn’t the only team to represent the Hoosiers proudly. The co-ed team finished fourth in its division. The co-ed team had to jump over a lot of hurdles this season to get to where it was. The members of the team participated in the smaller division, which allows teams to compete with four males and 12 females.This forced the team to change all it had done in previous years and start anew. It is the ability to adapt to change and overcome that helped the squad make up for lost time. Whether anyone believes cheerleading should or should not be considered a sport does not matter at this point. What matters is that we have National Champions at IU again, and it’s time for everyone to take notice.
(01/18/12 3:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If you are a Hoosier sports fan and on Twitter, there are probably a lot of people you follow to get information. Many of those are fact-based, but some are much more than that. At this point, many people have probably heard of @ChronicHoosier. It is the uncensored and sometimes lewd Twitter handle that spits out facts, betting lines (although he says he’s never bet money on a game), comments and, most importantly, opinions about IU athletics. @ChronicHoosier says things that people don’t agree with, but that seems to be the point sometimes. Being anonymous makes it easy. Although he says his real identity is one of the worst kept secrets in Bloomington, he still gets away with it. Here’s the exclusive Q&A with Bloomington’s own @ChronicHoosier. IDS How long ago did you start tweeting from Chronic Hoosier?@Ch I started it back in April of 2009. IDS What gave you the idea?@CH I got tired of talking to myself. It was a more efficient way of communicating. I just found myself on there, and now I haven’t shut up in a couple of years now. IDS How did it get so popular?@CH It may be just the perspective. I’m not trying to communicate from the seat of a credentialed media member. It’s not like I have any ethics or standards I follow. I don’t really pay attention to consequences either. IDS Are you trying to be funny?@CH More than anything, I’m just myself. There is really not a driving desire to be the funny guy. Those that know me know that my vernacular is pretty close to what you are going to get on Twitter. IDS Where do you get some of your ideas?@CH IU athletics in general is something (in which) I’ve always been pretty immersed throughout my whole life. I’m an IU alum myself. I’ve been fortunate to be around IU athletics at some length for the better part of my life. Like most Hoosiers, it is something we are very emotionally invested in. When you have that kind of passion, it drives you to communicate about that topic. IDS Favorite IU sport?@CH Basketball, although I love me some soccer too. IDS What’s the best sport to rag on?@CH You’re baiting me to rag on football, I know.IDS Is it nice to get to say things uncensored?@CH Fuck yeah, why else? It’s one of the weird elements of doing what I do, the whole anonymity too. There are litany of conflicts that may arise if my identity became messed with some of the opinions, or at least the way people perceive my opinions. IDS How do you feel about all the fake Twitter accounts? @CH Parody is tough. It’s good when it’s done well. It’s not worthy of your attention when it’s done poorly. There are few that are done really, really well. I think @FakeCoachWilson is pure gold, @TheBigHandsome obviously as well. IDS How’d you feel about the Ohio State game?@CH Like a swift kick in the nuts. As bad as the game was, I’m still bitter about Minnesota. I really expected that this was going to be a shellacking, at least in points. I thought we’d put forth a lot more fight and effort than we did in the first half. We pretty much bent over and grabbed our ankles after they started exerting themselves.
(01/11/12 4:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There was a headline not too long ago on the cover of the IDS Sports page that read, “All we do is lose, lose, lose.” That headline might have upset some people, but whether they thought it was appropriate didn’t matter.The headline was true. All we did was lose. All the Hoosiers seemed to have done during the last three years was lose. Yes, there were many teams that have done well during that time — soccer, swimming and a few others, but not the revenue-making sports. Not the ones people “care about.”That all is about to change. This spring, all IU sports teams have the opportunity to draw in the newly rejuvenated student body. The basketball team is winning, and now all Hoosier fans are willing to believe again.When the school’s top revenue sport is having an unprecedented successful season, it carries over to other teams. Coaches and players feel the Hoosier pride and don’t want to leave it behind. This new year brings the opportunity to discover the other sports IU has to offer. It’s time to bring back the tradition of winning at IU. Baseball Although the first home game is not until March 21, baseball in Bloomington is always something worthwhile. Enjoying a game during an April afternoon is something every sports fan on campus should do. The athletic department has helped the baseball team amp up its attendance with a few gimmicks. Last year, the department created a “bleacher” area in left field to allow students to have a mini-tailgate while watching the game. Heckling was not only permitted, but strongly encouraged. IU players in the bullpen would get a laugh out of some of the various things coming from the mouths of the bleacher bums. Baseball games are fun to watch, but it also helps that the baseball team is actually pretty good. It finished last season 30-25 and has one of its best players returning in junior Micah Johnson.Last season he led the team in runs, stolen bases, walks and a few other categories. Keep IU Coach Tracy Smith’s team in mind when basketball season ends, and fans look for new thrills.Women’s BasketballTo say that there is nowhere to go but up for the women’s basketball team would be an understatement. The Hoosiers are struggling — a lot. They’ve had some close games they’ve ended on the wrong side of. They need something to spark them: a fan base.No, it’s not the same as seeing the now-No. 7 men’s basketball team play, but it’s about time they received some support. They play Sunday afternoons, and now that football is almost over, why not go catch a game? Who knows, they might even surprise or entertain you. Swimming and diving, baseball, softball, basketball, wrestling and a few others either continue or begin in 2012. I hope the spring has more winning in the future.
(12/08/11 3:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>“This Old Cub” finally got what he had always wanted, an induction into Cooperstown, Mass. In his sixteenth time on the ballot, Ron Santo became a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Most Cubs fans can’t help but lament the fact it was a year too late. The committee robbed one of the greatest third-basemen of all-time the opportunity to see himself inducted. Santo died Dec. 3, 2010 without seeing one of his greatest dreams fulfilled. Santo spent 14 of his 15 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Cubs. He then spent another 21 years as a broadcaster on Cubs radio. For regular listeners, it was more plausible that Santo would die of excitement in the booth than from his long-time diabetes battle. During his career, he played 2,243 games, hit .277 and had 342 home runs and 1,331 RBIs. These stats made him well-deserving of a trip to Cooperstown before this year. Santo was never shy about making it known what being a Hall of Famer meant to him. He wanted to be there alongside other Cubs greats like Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Fergie Jenkins. He felt he deserved it, and so did Cubs fans.When his jersey, the number 10, was retired at Wrigley Field in 2003, Santo famously said, “This is my Hall of Fame.” It was an emotional moment for the Cubs’ great and the fans. Even though that’s what Santo said, everyone always knew it wasn’t complete. Eight years later, Santo’s wish came true, but it doesn’t quite feel the same. His speech would have given chills to baseball fans from both inside and outside Chicago. It would have likely shown what it meant to be a true athlete in an era that now associates disgrace with many of the current stars. Looking at the whole picture, it is not surprising that Santo didn’t get what he wanted or what he deserved. He gave everything to his team for 14 seasons. He gave his life to a franchise for 21 years in a broadcast booth but never got the ultimate prize. His time with the Cubs was filled with curses, jinxes and a lot more frustrations than happy moments. He, like most living Cubs fans, never saw the Cubs win a World Series. He spent many years watching a team with potential fall short again and again. He saw changes that made Wrigley Field go from its original feel to one that has advertising on the Ivy and popular music being played from the speakers. The Cubs franchise today is not the one it was when Santo entered it, but that never changed his passion for the team, his team. Shame on the Hall of Fame committee for waiting so long to let Santo into Cooperstown. He embodies what people look for in a role model. He always played his hardest and never gave up. Although no one can be certain, I’m sure Ronnie will have a smile on his face when his family accepts the nomination on his behalf. If only we had the privilege to see it in person. — cursini@indiana.edu
(12/01/11 5:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This week proved to be an important one for the human resources departments, or realistically, athletic departments, for two drastically different reasons: The hiring and firing of figures at two prominent programs kept people interested. Once again, some were happy and some were furious. FIRINGAs if people had not heard enough details regarding the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal, now it appears we will be starting from the beginning again, this time with former Syracuse assistant coach Bernie Fine.Syracuse fired Fine on Sunday. It was 100 percent the correct and appropriate thing to do. Syracuse clearly knows what happened at Penn State and could not take delay a moment on a decision regarding Fine. Whether or not Syracuse had all the facts yet never mattered. It is too close for comfort to the Penn State allegations to mess around even a little bit. The immediate firing of Fine will most likely save Head Coach Jim Boeheim from the same fate as Joe Paterno. Unless something earth-shattering happens in the next week, Boeheim should keep his job. The issues in this case might play out in the media even more than those of Penn State because of a loudmouth district attorney, William Fitzpatrick, who is already speaking openly in press conferences about the case. That is not the way to get justice for anyone. The next couple of weeks will help to see if the firing of Fine was for all the right reasons, but there is absolutely no way Syracuse could have let him sit on the bench for even one more game. HIRINGAll is right with the world in Ohio. The state university will once again have a top-name coach to lead it back into the high rankings of college football teams and back into the hearts of everyone still proud enough to call him or herself a Buckeye fan. On Monday, Ohio State announced the hiring of Ohio native and former University of Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer. He is 104-23 in his 10 seasons of coaching but was in what he called retirement when he got the call from Ohio State. This is the best possible move for both Ohio State and Meyer. Meyer, who left due to health and family concerns, gets to go back to the game on his terms. Ohio State gets someone who knows how to win and knows how to control a program. Buckeye fans should hold their breaths and hope Meyer has pulled out of the slump that produced an 8-5 record his last season at Florida. It will not be the easiest path for Meyer when he gets there. The pain and severity of NCAA penalties may linger for many years to come, but the Buckeyes hope Meyer’s winning records and reigns at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida will carry over to Columbus, Ohio.Bringing an Ohio native back to his home state is a great story. It helps put Ohio State back near the wholesome image some might still envision it with. Ohio State fans, players and students are ready to win again. Meyer better know he does not have much time until the camera lights shut off and the real work begins again.— cursini@indiana.edu
(11/17/11 3:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This is an outrage. How could this happen? Penn State is going to abandon not just its coach but also the history of the school’s football program with the dismissal of Joe Paterno. He is 84. Let him finish out his 46th season on his own terms. Those were my original thoughts when the Penn State and Jerry Sandusky issues arose. I couldn’t understand why Paterno couldn’t be salvaged for the rest of the season since he was more of a figurehead, anyway. Now I’m disgusted I ever thought any of those people should be spared. In one of the biggest and most disturbing sports scandals in recent memory, it appears that as a coach and mentor, Sandusky abused his power by molesting young boys in his home, in locker rooms, in showers and on university grounds.He did this for more than a decade. He abused his power as a coach and the benefits he got as a part of the Penn State athletic department to lure boys into trusting him.Child molesters are the worst form of human beings, but this story brings a whole new type of person to light — those who know and do nothing. After reading the grand jury indictment, it appears lots of people knew. That is when my opinion changed about what was fair. Reading about victims that hoped someone would help and then were let down by coaches and university officials was sickening. Every news report makes it a little clearer that there was a time when these incidents should have been reported to law enforcement, not just the inner circles of Penn State. The grand jury document claims a Penn State graduate assistant witnessed one of the alleged abuses by Sandusky in March 2002. This graduate assistant has now been identified as current Assistant Coach Mike McQueary.He saw a young boy not just being touched but being raped. McQueary left the locker room, told his father, later told Paterno and then supposedly up the chain it went. McQueary sat in a room and told Athletics Director Tim Curley and Senior Vice President Gary Schultz.There McQueary was, sitting in a room with some of the most powerful people at Penn State, telling them he saw a former assistant coach rape a young boy in a university locker room. What did they say? They would look into it. Nine years later, someone is looking into it, the people who should have been brought in years ago: law enforcement. For more than a decade, Sandusky was able to use his position for Penn State as a shield for his actions and as a way to lure more victims to him. He knew that people in the department had to know, but since nothing was done, he continued the cycle of abuse.Winning games does not make you invincible. Winning National Championships does not make you above the law. Too many people in this program had the chance to stop this. JoePa, I no longer feel sorry for you. I no longer believe you should have been able to leave on your own terms. You and the rest of your staff and the administrators who knew deserve to go to jail right along with Sandusky. — cursini@indiana.edu
(11/10/11 4:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It is finally here. We have waited just about seven months for this to be back. It is the greatest time in sports across any league, division or level of play. It is time for the start of college basketball.College basketball is, without a doubt, the best sport to watch as a spectator or as a fan. It seems like just yesterday that we had an 11 seed playing an eight seed in the Final Four. The excitement that comes with an entire season of college basketball is second to none.The last nine months were spent hearing professional athletes in the NFL and the NBA complain about how they need to make more money or have better contracts. The NBA still isn’t playing games. The MLB playoffs weren’t all that exciting, either, until the last two games.These are just a few of the reasons why college basketball is the best when it comes to sports to watch and follow through a whole season. It is the sport with the best playoff system. Each year, 64 — well, technically 68, with the new play-in system — teams have the opportunity to play for a national championship. No, there hasn’t been a 16 seed upset a one seed yet, but other than that, almost every team has a legitimate chance to win some games.The way the playoff system works is much better than the current bowl system for college football. No one has to watch two 6-6 teams play each other in the Little Caesers’ Pizza Bowl game on a Wednesday night in the middle of December.People want to figure out a way to watch five games at the same time on a Tuesday afternoon while working in an office to catch what could be the biggest upset of the tournament.It has a season of the perfect length. College basketball is not drawn out into 90 or 100 games. It has a regular season with about 30 games in just more than three months. We never lose interest in college basketball because there just simply isn’t enough time.Unlike college football, college basketball regularly has upsets throughout the season. There really is no chance of Indiana upsetting LSU in a regular season football game, but there is a real possibility that a team at the bottom of the ACC might pull a fast one on North Carolina, the preseason No. 1, in college basketball.That is what makes college basketball so magical. Every team has a shot the entire year to make a name for itself. We praise the underdog in college basketball and tend to root against the long-standing powerhouses, knowing there is someone out there to beat them.Many great college basketball players go on to have subpar professional careers.College basketball is made for players like former Duke guard J.J. Redick. He was one of Duke’s all-time greatest three-point and free-throw shooters but has been a mediocre member of the Orlando Magic after getting drafted.It is OK to have hope during college basketball season. It is OK to dream about a team like Virginia Commonwealth winning the National Championship because it could actually happen.It is the best sport to watch. It is the best sport to be a fan of. The college basketball season has finally begun.— cursini@indiana.edu