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(05/23/05 7:54pm)
One year after new downtown apartments flooded the Bloomington housing market, local landlords are adjusting to the growing competition to attract student renters.\n"Competition is greater," said Linda Brown of CS Property Management. "Some of the older properties don't have all of the amenities that the new ones do. Let's face it -- a lot of people like new apartments."\nThe job has gotten tougher after more than 700 people moved downtown to lease apartments last fall, said Talisha Coppock, the director of the downtown Bloomington commission.\nThe impact of the new downtown facilities, like Smallwood Apartments and 10th and College, is different for local landlords. Most rental agencies are making adjustments to their properties to make them more competitive in a crowded market.\nThese adjustments likely favor students as some landlords can't raise lease rates in order to stay competitive. Other property leasers have added features such as free Internet to attract potential tenants.
(04/28/05 5:10am)
Freshman Courtney Carnevale finished eating a balanced lunch of sushi, pita and humus in the Indiana Memorial Union's cafeteria around 1 p.m. one afternoon.\nOne year ago though, her meal wouldn't have featured pyramid-like foods and it definitely wouldn't have included pitas -- an item containing carbohydrates. \nIn April 2004, Carnevale had not eaten carbohydrates for about one year. The low-carb diet had been successful as she had lost 20 pounds. \nBut last year, Carnevale's low-carb dieting habits abruptly stopped when her body came to rest at the bottom of the stairs in her home in Livingston, N.J. Carnevale said her blood sugar dipped too low and caused her to collapse. \nAlthough she was OK, it was a scary moment for the then-senior in high school.\n"My parents told me I couldn't be on (a low-carb diet) anymore," Carnevale said. "I spoke to my doctor about it afterwards and she said it wasn't healthy to be on it."\nMany Americans are following Carnevale's lead. Although they likely haven't experienced the extreme incident Carnevale faced, many are becoming disinterested and quitting the diet -- finding the low-carb, high-protein craze too strict in limiting healthy foods groups. \nOthers think it is unhealthy in the long-term with the possibility of the heavy-load of calories and saturated fats eventually causing heart disease.\n"I don't even see people really starting it anymore," Carnevale said. "Once you go off of it you gain all of your weight back. It's not even worth it."\nIn the last few years, many food manufacturing companies thought it was worth riding the low-carb craze to meet consumers' demands. \nBut after the recent fall out, private companies, such as Atkins Nutritionals and Keto Foods, have seen losses in revenue because of an overextended dive into the low-carb food market that has resulted in excess inventories. Atkins experienced a 32 percent revenue drop in a six-month stretch during 2004, according to Dec. 5, 2004 article in The New York Times.\nThe low-carb diet's decline is the latest in woebegone food trends. IU Kelley School of Business Marketing Professor Ann Bastianelli said consumers, like Carnevale, who started on a low-carb diet before eventually quitting are the norm in a quick-fix dieting culture. \nIn the 1980s, the food trend turned the table toward oat bran. In the 1990s, low-fat foods were the trend. In the 2000s, low-carbs have ruled plates.\nUnfortunately for American consumers, Bastianelli said, showing moderation by watching calories and exercising regularly is the best answer for losing weight.\n"No one wants to hear that answer," Bastianelli said. "If manufacturers have permission to believe there's consumer demand for an easy answer and they can make that product, they will."\nManufacturers did make low-carb products -- and they made them in mass. From 2002 to 2004, manufacturers introduced about 3,737 products which had been created or re-engineered to market toward the low-carb craze, according to a ProductScan Online study noted in the Times article.\nRecently, however, supply has outpaced demand, according to an NDI Group study cited within the article. In January 2004, 9 percent of Americans were on low-carb diets. That number fell to 4.6 percent just eight months later in September. \nYet in that eight-month span, the low-carb product category doubled.\n"I think the bloom is definitely off the rose," said Assistant Professor of Marketing Adam L. Duhachek.\nSue Aquila, owner of Bloomington Bagel Company, said she sees the decline as well.\n"Businesses specifically catering to low-carbs have had an incredible decline in sales, especially companies that ramped up specifically for low-carb products," Aquila said.\nBloomington Bagel didn't jump onto the low-carb train. While the whimsical food market fluctuated, Aquila and Bloomington Bagel stayed committed to what low-carb dieters saw as the forbidden fruit -- bread. \nHer commitment has been rewarded. Aquila thought Bloomington Bagel would be negatively affected by the diet. It hasn't, however, and actually grew in the past several years.\nAquila said part of the reason for Bloomington Bagel's expansion is its young target market. Aquila thinks they're less concerned with "radical" regimens, like the low-carb Atkins diet, because they're difficult to maintain for young college students' lifestyles.\nAnother reason, Aquila said, has been her commitment to quality and bagels.\n"Our philosophy is we don't cater to the fad of the times," Aquila said.\nCompanies such as Atkins and Keto Foods have tried to cater to trends by selling low-carb food products, and they've suffered revenue loss. Dieting stalwart Weight Watchers, however, has a different business model. Although Weight Watchers sells food products, the publicly-traded company focuses more on education through its weight-loss meetings compared to trying to sell its products.\nAfter being hurt by the low-carb trend, Weight Watchers recovered as net income grew 32 percent in the first nine months of 2004 compared to the same period in 2003, according to The New York Times.\nBastianelli feels Weight Watchers has a longer staying power because of its use of moderation. \n"It's a simple enough formula that works pretty well," Bastianelli said. "People can understand that one. The carb stuff is hard to live by." \nWith low-carbs declining to a remaining faithful contingent, food manufacturers are left waiting to see what the next craze will be.\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(04/25/05 6:09am)
IU students not on an athletic team or holding certain financial aid distinctions will not qualify to use the bursar billing option at the IU Bookstore starting in August.\nThe modified bursar service is the result of lengthy negotiations finalized between IU and T.I.S. Bookstore in March, said Mark Kuchefski, executive director of the IU Bookstore. The locally owned bookstore felt bursar billing gave the IU Bookstore an unfair business advantage since the service was implemented in 2001.\nStudents can still use bursar billing if they hold Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans or play on an IU athletic team, according to a University statement.\nThirty percent of IU students billed books to the bursar this academic year, Kuchefski said. About one-third of IU students qualify for the five distinctions now required for bursar billing use.\nKuchefski said it might be IU athletes and the specific financial aid winners who compose the 30 percent asking for bursar billing.\n"They may not be in fact the same group, but there's a fair percentage of the student body that does fit those categories," Kuchefski said.\nBursar billing allows qualifying students to pay for their textbooks at a later date in the semester, often helping financially strapped students avoid paying for their books at the beginning of the semester.\nJunior Cody Vidinich does not receive financial aid but has always billed his textbooks to the bursar. He said he was angry when he heard he wouldn't be able to use bursar billing.\n"I thought the bursar (billing) was convenient," Vidinich said. "I definitely see T.I.S.' point, but the University's main goal should be the students rather than worrying about other businesses."\nSince bursar billing began, T.I.S. also wanted students to be able to bill books purchased from its store on Third Street, said Tim Tichenor, operations manager of T.I.S. Despite the plea, Tichenor said IU refused to offer the service to off-campus businesses.\n"We just wanted to participate, and the University just decided that was not feasible for them," Tichenor said.\nTichenor said not offering the service to off-campus businesses is contradictory because IU extends other services, like Campus Access, outside the University.\nAs a result, T.I.S. has lost $2 million in revenue in the last two years, Tichenor said. In an effort to level the playing field, Tichenor said T.I.S. talked with local representatives of the Indiana General Assembly before the agreement was reached between the two parties.\nThe modification will be officially implemented Aug. 13 and take effect for purchases for the fall semester.\nAfter IU and T.I.S.' agreement, T.I.S. will stop pursuing complete removal of bursar billing in the short term, Tichenor said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(04/24/05 10:55pm)
If an IU student does not play on an IU athletic team or hold one of four financial aid distinctions, he or she won't qualify to use the bursar billing option at the IU Bookstore starting this August.\nThe modified bursar service is the result of lengthy negotiations finalized between IU and T.I.S. Bookstore in March, Mark Kuchefski, executive director of the IU Bookstore said. The locally owned bookstore felt bursar billing gave the IU Bookstore an unfair business advantage since the service was implemented in 2001. \nAs a result of T.I.S.' concerns, IU and T.I.S. reached an agreement to limit the use of bursar billing. Students can still use the bursar if they hold one or more Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans or play on an IU athletic team, according to a University statement.\nThirty percent of IU students billed books to the bursar this academic year, Kuchefski said. Around one-third of IU students qualify for the five distinctions now mandatory for bursar billing.\nKuchefski said it might be IU athletes and the specific financial aid winners who make up the 30 percent asking for bursar billing.\n"They may not be in fact the same group but there's a fair percentage of the student body that does fit those categories," Kuchefski said.\nBursar billing allows qualifying students to pay for their textbooks at a later date in the semester, perhaps aiding financially strapped students to not have to pay for their textbooks at the beginning of the semester.\nJunior Cody Vidinich does not receive financial aid, but he has always billed his textbooks to the bursar. Vidinich said he was angry when he heard that he wouldn't be able to use the bursar anymore.\n"I thought the bursar was convenient," Vidinich said. "I definitely see T.I.S. point, but the University's main goal should be the students rather than worrying about other businesses."\nSince bursar billing began, T.I.S. also wanted students to be able to bill books purchaced from its store on 3rd St., Tim Tichenor, operations manager of T.I.S. said. Despite their plea, Tichenor said IU refused to offer the service to off-campus businesses. \n"We just wanted to participate and the University just decided that was not feasible for them," Tichenor said.\nTichenor said he feels not offering the service to off-campus businesses is contradictory, as he said IU extends other services, like Campus Access, outside the University. \nAs a result, T.I.S. has lost $2 million in revenue in the last two years, Tichenor said. In an effort to level the playing field, Tichenor said T.I.S. had talks with local representatives of the Indiana General Assembly before the agreement was reached between the two parties.\nThe modification will officially occur Aug. 13, 2005, and take effect for purchases for the Fall, 2005 semester.\nAfter IU and T.I.S.' agreement, T.I.S. will cease pursuing complete removal of bursar billing in the short term, Tichenor said.
(04/14/05 6:06am)
Tim Fitzpatrick knows he can't change the past. He's just trying to learn from it.\nAs Associate Athletics Director for External Operations, Fitzpatrick is leading the athletics department's marketing team to revive recent years' sluggish IU football ticket sales. While the team's losses have mounted, season ticket sales have dropped by nearly one-third compared to five years ago among the general public and the student body, according to the IU Athletic Ticket Office.\nIn an effort to fill Memorial Stadium, Fitzpatrick and his marketing team began promotional efforts about four months earlier by using a direct mail campaign with correspondence from new coach Terry Hoeppner. That sales pitch capitalized on new excitement brought by Hoeppner's visibility. \nAs of April 8, just short of five months before season home opener, the general public has already purchased 7,418 season tickets. The public purchased just 8,858 season tickets total last year.\n"Historically here we have seen a downward trend in season ticket sales over the last seven or eight years," Fitzpatrick said. "We're trying to stop that, (and) we're in a position to see some real significant growth."\nThe marketing team is also hoping IU student's season ticket numbers increase as well to correct a recent decline. In 2000, 6,460 students purchased season tickets. In 2004, that number fell to 2,832.\nSeeking a remedy, the department has lowered the prices of student tickets. For six home games, student season ticket holders pay $8 per game compared to $10 last year -- in which IU hosted only five games.\n"That's our indication of letting the students know just how much we want them to be there," Fitzpatrick said. "It has nothing to do with fees or anything else."\nGETTING THE STUDENTS\nThe campaign to return IU students to the Memorial Stadium seats has been a priority of Hoeppner's since he was hired. Around campus, the program's advertisements for student season ticket packages have been timed with the registration period, when the majority of students purchase football tickets, Fitzpatrick said.\nFitzpatrick has also participated in many focus groups with students. He said it's evident students want IU football to improve.\n"That's when you have a chance to do great things," Fitzpatrick said. "You can't be afraid to ask your fans what they think, and you can't be afraid of the answers that come back."\nThe answers students have given the athletics department mainly express concerns with the value of a football ticket, Fitzpatrick said. He said the department learned the ticket price wasn't the biggest issue, but the ticket's value was the largest problem. \nOn Saturdays, many students prefer to remain in the grass fields adjacent to 17th Street than attend the games.\nAt the conclusion of one of his focus groups held during a class lecture, Fitzpatrick said a student approached him and indicated his desire for change. \n"He came up to me after class and said, 'When I'm graduated, I don't want to have to (talk) to my friends that went to Ohio State or Michigan ... when they're talking about the great experiences they've had in their football stadium, I don't want to be the guy who stayed in the parking lot and never went into the game,'" Fitzpatrick said.\nStudents tailgating while a game is in progress is one difficulty Fitzpatrick has had to accept. When people ask him why students don't attend games, he says the reason is they were pretty sure "they weren't going to like what they saw."\n"We have to overcome that negative fashionability," Fitzpatrick said. "(The incoming freshmen) are very, very important because they are not going to think that it's not cool to go in. That's why the first-time experience is important."
(04/12/05 6:41pm)
Average salary increases among IU's faculty fell behind the national average this academic year. \nAccording to a survey, faculty salaries rose 3.2 percent nationally, whereas IU's faculty salaries increased just 2.8 percent on average, said Neil Theobald, vice chancellor of budgetary affairs and planning. \nThe difference stems from less state and tuition funding compared with other Big Ten institutions, Theobald said. Of the Big Ten's 10 public institutions, IU is last in state funding and eighth in tuition revenue, he said.\n"We have a resource problem, and we're significantly underfunded in relation to our peers," Theobald said.\nThe survey was conducted by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources.\nWhile IU's faculty salaries aren't rising as quickly as other institutions', competition is always there for IU-Bloomington's top professors. As of Monday, Theobald said 54 faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences, and probably many more from around the University, have received offers from outside institutions.\nIn an effort to keep its top professors, IU has given its most prestigious faculty members higher salaries compared with other faculty. Although the faculty's average increase was 2.8 percent, the faculty's median, or middle, growth was just 2 percent, Theobald said.\n"The reason for the big difference was there were a few faculty members that received much more than the median," Theobald said. "We had a lot of outside offers. Other universities want to recruit our best faculty. They pay more. We made a real effort to keep those faculties."\nTed Miller, chairman of the Faculty Affairs Committee of the Bloomington Faculty Council, speculated that faculty salary increases nationally reflect gains in the U.S. economy. In the last four of five years, Miller said, state budgets were in "terrible, terrible shape" because of declines in the stock market and the post-Sept. 11 economic recession.\n"We've kind of come out of that recession," Miller said. "Some states have been able to catch up a little bit. Indiana is lagging behind being able to come out of the recession."\nOf IUB's $618.5 million in revenue, $200 million comes from state funding, and $366 million comes from tuition revenue, Theobald said. \nAlthough IU's salary increases were eclipsed nationally this year, last year the opposite was true. Theobald said IU raised its faculty's salaries 2.7 percent last academic year. On the other hand, average faculty salaries rose just 2.1 percent nationally last year and only 1.4 percent at public universities, an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, referencing the CUPA-HR report, said.\nMiller said the IU Board of Trustees is doing everything possible to maintain competitive salaries for IU faculty members.\n"They understand that faculty salaries are an important competitive factor for Indiana University as it tries to compete with other universities to hire the kind of faculty members we want here at IU," Miller said.\nThe American Association of University Professors also measures faculty salaries. Unlike the CUPA-HR, however, AAUP reports its data by institution rather than by academic discipline.\nIn an April 2004 Bloomington campus AAUP report, IU placed ninth amongst Big Ten public institutions in terms of average professors' salaries, paying on average $81,000. Topping the list was Michigan, which pays its faculty an average of $93,600. In-state Purdue placed tenth, paying an average of $79,600.\nProfessors' salaries partly depend on their field. The CUPA-HR's survey said the average faculty member nationally earns $66,407. \nThe top earners nationally were law professors, who made an average salary of $111,909, and business and engineering faculty members, who took in more than $80,000 per year.\nThe lowest paid areas of instruction were English, communication programs and recreation studies, areas in which average faculty salaries averaged less than $57,000, the CUPA-HR survey said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(04/07/05 4:00am)
With Dick's Sporting Goods opening in the College Mall Wednesday, you'd think Smith's Sport'n Shoe would be more concerned.\nStore owner Steve Smith, however, thinks Dick's will have a positive impact on his smaller shop. \n"I like the fact that Dick's is coming into the mall," Smith said. "I like it for Bloomington and its east side."\nSmith's optimism illustrates local store owners' and managers' feelings toward the "big box" sporting goods retailer. Although many owners think Dick's will have an immediate negative impact on sales numbers, local stores are relying on higher-quality apparel and their specific locations to survive and thrive. \nAfter Dick's newness wears off, the local shops, such as downtown's J.L. Waters and Co. and Smith's Sport'n Shoe, will outlast and might even have an increase in sales after the opening honeymoon. \n"I think you can put as many Dick's in here as you want and it won't really impact us that much," said Greg Martz, general manager of outdoor apparel provider J.L. Waters and Co. "I think if stores are prepared to weather that six-to-12-month window, they may in fact be better off." \nMC Sports, as opposed to the smaller local stores, is a more direct competitor to Dick's. Both are large stores offering a wide assortment of sports products, but there are differences between the two -- namely location. MC Sports, at 3100 Susan Drive at Whitehall Crossing, is on the opposite side of town from Dick's.\nUnlike Smith, MC Sports spokesman Ed Rix said it's hard to predict whether MC Sports' sales will decline. He pointed to an example in Granville, Mich., where a Dick's opened next to an MC Sports. \nIn this case, MC Sports sales actually increased after Dick's opened, Rix said.\n"It may have been because (Dick's) was in the area," Rix said.\nSmith's Sport'n Shoe is hoping for a similar consumer overflow at College Mall. The store has been a part of Bloomington since 1952 and hopes its local flair will continue to thrive in Bloomington.\nSmith thinks his store's ability to be customer-driven and "get what's hot" will aid Smith's Sport'n Shoe's effort in competing against Pittsburgh-based Dick's.\n"The toughest thing about being a national chain is you have someone in Pittsburgh deciding what's good in Bloomington, Ind.," Smith said.\nWhile Smith's is hoping to profit by being closer to Dick's, J.L. Waters is hoping to capitalize by being farther away. J.L. Waters is located at 109 N. College Ave. on the square, and its general manager Martz said shoppers come downtown for a reason.\n"We're a lifestyle shop," Martz said. "We validate peoples' lifestyles. Dick's doesn't do that. If you think about the atmosphere in downtown Bloomington, people want to shop in boutique and specialty stores. (J.L. Waters) is for people that want that quality of experience."\nLocation won't be the only hopeful draw for Smith's and J.L. Waters. Although the stores said they do have some overlapping products with Dick's, they're relying on their higher-end, "A-grade" products to differentiate themselves. \nMany department stores grade their markets, Smith said, and he feels the Bloomington Dick's location will be a C-grade store in a third-tier market. This will be an advantage for Smith's as it sells more fashion-forward apparel than a likely "C-grade" Dick's store would offer, Smith said.\n"We're just different animals," Smith said. "They'll have basic Columbia and North Face. What we'll have is that, plus a lot more colors and a lot more styles. They tend to keep it a little more basic." \nMartz said J.L. Waters stocks brands such as Patagonia and Mountain Hardwear that vendors won't sell to Dick's. \nLocal store owners, like Smith, know the competition is there. To be successful, smaller retailers have to know the market and how to compete within it.\nThere's no need to be concerned if a store doesn't try to beat others at their own game.\n"You find that niche in that market and do a good job," Smith said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(04/06/05 4:39am)
With April weather sparking spring outdoor activities, IU students will have a new option for fulfilling their sporting needs when Dick's Sporting Goods opens today.\nDick's, located in the College Mall, offers 50,000 square feet of sports equipment, apparel and footwear and seeks to outfit IU students and Bloomington residents with all of the sporting equipment they need. \nThousands of IU students compete in recreational sports. This fact, coupled with the active Bloomington community, encouraged Pittsburgh-based Dick's to expand to Bloomington, said Les Morris of Simon Property Group, which manages College Mall.\n"They were very attracted to come to Bloomington because of the demographics and the interest in physical fitness," Morris said.\nAlthough the store will have been open for more than a week, Dick's will hold grand opening festivities April 17 with several entertainment and sporting events planned. \nThe opening continues Dick's widespread expansion into Indiana after the company purchased fellow sporting-goods retailer Galyans Trading Co. in 2004 for $362 million. Galyans was based in Plainfield, Ind., before being acquired.\nWith the Bloomington store, Dick's offers 16 locations within the state -- including nine in the Indianapolis area.\nWhile Dick's opening will add sports shopping alternatives for IU students, its effect on College Mall remains to be seen, as Dick's will compete with other sporting goods stores in the mall such as Smith's Sport'n Shoes and Finish Line. \nAlthough Dick's will add to a competitive environment within the mall and in Bloomington, Morris said the store's effect will be "very positive."\n"They draw a great cross-section of people, like the recreational sports enthusiasts, the man or woman who's playing at the HPER building on campus, to the AAU basketball player playing at the SportsPlex on Second Street, the weekend athletes that like to buy the licensed gear that they have," Morris said.\nIn Bloomington, Dick's large sporting goods layout is similar only to MC Sports, located at 3100 Susan Drive at Whitehall Crossing. Although the 50,000-square-foot size might seem like organized chaos, Dick's displays its products in a specialty shop format that is engineered "to engage consumers in a bright, organized environment," according to a press release. \nThese specialty shops include Footwear, Total Sports, Bike and Fitness and a Nike shop, among others. \nDick's is the second major retailer opening in College Mall in recent weeks. Charlotte Russe, offering clothing for women in their teens and twenties, opened in the mall Feb. 25. \nRestaurant TGI Friday's will open near Dick's on the southwest corner of College Mall at the end of the summer, said Dena Marietta, marketing director for College Mall.\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(03/31/05 5:28am)
It might seem like Don Johnson has a tough job as chief investigator and owner of Trace Investigations in Bloomington.\nRunning a private investigator firm in a small town appears to present disadvantages for a practice many people associate with shadowy figures lurking in the dark.\nThat's not the case, Johnson said, as he discounts the common misconceptions the public has about private investigators. \nOn the contrary, most of Johnson's work is "pretty up front," he said. Despite being known around town, working in a small market actually provides Johnson with a competitive advantage as the only certified legal investigator in the area, he said.\nJohnson, who started Trace in 1990, never expected to rely on the Bloomington market for all of its business, but the years proved him wrong, and Trace has profited. \n"I thought I would have to expand beyond Bloomington and (the) Monroe County general area and cover all of Indiana," Johnson said. \nAccording to Hoover's Inc. business database, Trace's annual sales are $110,000 -- which is within the range of $150,000 that most small investigative firms gross within a small market, Johnson said.\nTrace has stayed in Bloomington because of its main customer base of local personal injury and insurance defense attorneys. These cases are the norm for firms like Trace that specialize in investigations involving litigation.\nHowever, shades of the public's common conception of P.I.'s do surface. One of the most intriguing cases Trace has investigated occurred when the adult children of an elderly woman became suspicious of their mother's caretaker. The caretaker seemed too wealthy and too trusting. Her out-of-town boyfriend suddenly arrived as well.\nThe children contacted Trace to investigate. The company discovered the caretaker had lived in several states for the past 20 years and had been sued many times. The boyfriend also had a criminal record for assaulting an elderly person. \nWith this information the children took custody of the mother, and the caretaker was fired while the boyfriend escaped.\nThe investigation discovered that the caretaker and boyfriend planned to take the mother on a road trip to Canada. When "unprescribed medicines" within the mother's home and an unsigned will were discovered, Johnson believed the mother never would have returned from the trip to Canada. But there wasn't enough evidence to convict the caretaker, and she moved out of state.\nThe company also investigates family law cases. It's those assignments where being a P.I. in a small market can involve competition for Trace's services from both sides.\nJohnson said sometimes a client will hire him in a family law case. Then the opposing side will call and try to employ him.\n"You simply say, 'I have a conflict of interest,'" Johnson said. "And they don't ask you anymore."\nThis is part of the life of a P.I. in a small town, but cases like these aren't the norm, as Trace's projects usually cover legal issues. When Johnson investigates a personal injury case, the work usually involves tracking down witnesses and taking statements. When he's involved in insurance defense, he's doing surveillance and investigating workers' compensation claims.\nIn a small town like Bloomington, Johnson doesn't worry about concealing his identity. He's actually more concerned with making sure he obeys the law and his ethics.\n"If you conceal your identity in some instances and deceive a person to get information," Johnson said, "then that information may not be valuable to that attorney because you've deceived that person into revealing things to you."\nAlthough Johnson wouldn't say which attorneys are his clients, he stays busy serving about 12 lawyers in the area from various law firms. \nHelping Trace maintain its client base is Johnson's certified legal investigator distinction. Johnson said there are only about 125 CLI's in the United States. CLI's are members in the National Association of Legal Investigators, whose "primary focus (is) to conduct investigations related to litigation" according to the organization's Web site, www.nalionline.org.\nNALI's national director, Robert Townsend, praised Johnson for his ability to effectively run Trace in a small market with a limited number of attorneys. \n"In a small town you have to be more socially active where that business grows in order to make yourself visible enough to obtain enough business to make a livable income," Townsend said.\nIndividually, Johnson speculates that most P.I.'s in Indiana charge about $60 an hour. He said he charges more because he's a certified legal investigator. Including Trace, there are six CLI's firms in Indiana, with three located in Indianapolis. \nBeing certified, combined with his specialization of working with attorneys to help take cases to trial, has allowed Johnson and Trace to carve a niche in Bloomington for 15 years. \nTrace faces many of the same difficulties other small businesses encounter. The investigations are easy for Johnson, he said, but the hardest part is the noninvestigative work. From keeping payroll, paying taxes and time management, Trace faces the same difficulties as other small businesses, Johnson said.\n"How do you schedule yourself in a given week when the demands change every day?" Johnson asked.\nBut unlike many small businesses, Trace hasn't had to adjust to a bigger company coming into town. Trace has stayed consistent in serving the small market community of Bloomington.\nAnd its work hasn't included a shadowy P.I. in a trench coat.\n"The days of Rockford files and 007 are passed," Townsend said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(03/25/05 6:04am)
Dane Fife, IU men's basketball administrative assistant and former player, accepted the head coaching position at IU-Purdue Fort Wayne Thursday after an announcement by IPFW's athletics director.\nAt just 25 years of age, Fife is now the youngest head coach in Division I -- five years younger than 30-year-old Jeff Capel of Virginia Commonwealth.\nAlthough he's young, Fife said his family background helped prepare him to be a Division I head coach. Fife is from a basketball family as his father, Dan Fife, played and coached at Michigan while his brother, Dugan, also played for the Wolverines.\nFife said his hiring accomplishes a long-time goal of becoming a college head coach.\n"IPFW men's basketball is on its way to becoming an outstanding program," Fife said in a statement, "and I will give everything that I have within me to bring it to the next level."\nJust three years removed from leading the Hoosiers to the Final Four, Fife now has a chance to coach a team to prominence. The year after Fife left IU he was drafted by the Continental Basketball Association's Gary Steelheads. He came back to Bloomington in 2003 to serve on IU coach Mike Davis' staff in various capacities for two seasons -- this past one as an administrative assistant.\nIPFW Athletics Director Mark Pope said Fife is a great fit for the Mastodon program and brings a "tremendous competitive spirit." \n"What most attracted me to Dane was that, more than any other candidate, he convinced me that he wants this position at IPFW -- not just any coaching position," Pope said in a statement. "He has a passion for our student-athletes and has studied them closely."\nWhen Fife officially takes over April 1, he will inherit a program from interim coach Joe Pechota that struggled last season, finishing 7-22. However, the Mastodons are young and they have only one senior departing -- leading scorer David Simon.\nTo help get IPFW back on track, Pope said Fife already has plans to further develop the program. \n"His preparation, attention to detail and hard work will be his greatest assets," Pope said.\nSenior Mike Roberts played with Fife for two years and was coached by him for two more. Roberts said some people might say Fife is too inexperienced for the job. But Roberts, who is 24, said Fife's age might help him in recruiting because he'll be able to relate to players that aren't much younger than him.\nAlthough Fife played under former IU coach Bobby Knight and Davis, Roberts said he thinks Fife will develop a coaching style of his own. \n"I'd say he'll be very hands-on and hold his players accountable," Roberts said. "He'll run a disciplined practice with a lot of emphasis on the fundamentals. I think it'll be intense and well organized."\nDavis said he's proud of Fife for his accomplishment and believes Fife will become a "tremendous asset to IPFW."\n"One of the reasons I first hired Dane on my staff was because I knew he would someday become an excellent coach," Davis said in a statement. "He has the determination, the drive and the passion to become one of the better coaches in the business and I wish him nothing but the best."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(03/22/05 4:27am)
News surfacing that IU men's basketball coach Mike Davis will return next season has brought criticism and praise from IU students.\nThe Web site, www.TheFacebook.com, has 15 groups dedicated to supporting Davis or calling for his head. The groups, mainly consisting of IU students, include "Cut Mike Davis some slack;" "Fire Mike Davis;" "Fire Mike Davis or take my life;" "Purdue fans for the extension of Mike Davis' contract;" and "Firing Mike Davis would be flat out stupid." \nIU freshman Jason Gaither is the founder of the group, "If Mike Davis goes, I go." Gaither, an Indianapolis native who's been an IU fan his entire life, said Davis deserves to return for another year -- especially because the now third-year coach led the Hoosiers to the final game of the 2002 NCAA Tournament.\n"If they win, he doesn't get credit for it; but if they lose, he gets credit," Gaither said. "They blame him for the loss."\nSenior Kathleen Concialdi founded the "I believe in Coach Davis" group and has supported Davis since her freshman year when the Hoosiers made their NCAA Tournament run.\n"That first year I saw what he could do so I know what he's capable of," Concialdi said. "You can't fire him because he didn't go so far this year."\nMany students, like Gaither, feel criticism toward Davis results simply because he replaced former coach Bobby Knight -- who won three national championships at IU.\nThose still supporting Knight in spite of Davis are more fans of the coach than IU fans, Gaither said.\nSophomore Ray Rodriguez is the founder of the 218-member "Fire Mike Davis" group -- the largest club regarding Davis on TheFacebook, and Rodriguez disputes the Knight notion.\nRodriguez said he's "extremely disappointed" that Davis was retained as head coach, but says he supported the coach when he led IU to the Final Four. Going 29-29 the past two seasons and not making the NCAA Tournament is Rodriguez's source of frustration with Davis -- not his place in the chronological order of Hoosier coaches.\n"If he came here and he started winning, than what can you say?" Rodriguez said. "If he was taking the team deep into the tournament, than what can you say?"\nRodriguez is a member, however, of the "Bring Back Bobby" club -- boasting 456 members. After transferring to IU at the beginning of his sophomore year, Rodriguez said he bought season tickets, but said he only went to four games because of the team's poor performance. He said he'll likely still buy tickets for next season but hopes for a better showing.\n"Nobody wants to go to those games and see what we see there," Rodriguez said.\nMany students felt Rodriguez's pain. The number of IU student ticket holders fell this past year. For the 2003-2004 season, 11,500 students purchased season tickets -- causing the number of tickets students received to be cut from the standard 12 games to eight, according to an Oct. 27, 2003, Indiana Daily Student article.\nThis season, the IU Ticket Office granted student ticket holders the complete 12--game package -- signifying the decrease in the number of student purchases as the demand for tickets didn't outpace supply.\nDespite some IU students disfavoring Davis, that number could rise with expectations soaring for a team returning its top-10 scorers while adding two transfers from Auburn and two incoming freshmen signees to the lineup.\nPerhaps the highest criteria for coaches is winning games. And for Rodriguez, the self-proclaimed "No. 1 Davis hater" and others wanting Davis fired say it's time to win some games.\n"He might be a great guy, but he's not here to be a great guy," Rodriguez said. "He's here to win and he's not doing that."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(03/14/05 4:30am)
The Hoosiers will have to put away their dancing shoes for another year.\nThe IU men's basketball team failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row Sunday as its name wasn't called by the NCAA's Selection Committee.\nInstead, the Hoosiers are relegated to playing Vanderbilt Wednesday in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. at Assembly Hall and will be aired on ESPN2.\nLast season, IU wasn't eligible to make the NCAA's because it didn't boast a winning record -- finishing 14-15. This year, the Hoosiers ended at 15-13, but looked to have a chance at the NCAA Tournament before their loss Friday to Minnesota.\nThe Commodores, a member of the Southeastern Conference, were in the same boat as the Hoosiers. Heading into the SEC Tournament, Vanderbilt teetered on the NCAA Tournament's bubble, but that bubble was burst after a first-round loss to Auburn. \nFive teams from the Big Ten got into the NCAA Tournament. Illinois, Michigan St., Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa will all go dancing in March. Both Minnesota and Iowa were seeded below IU in the Big Ten Tournament with No. 5 and 7 seeds, respectively.\nIU coach Mike Davis hoped his 10-6 record within the Big Ten and overall strength of schedule would be enough to get into the NCAAs.\n"I feel like we're at 10-6 and playing the schedule that we've played that we should be fine," Davis said after the loss to Minnesota.\nThe Hoosiers ended up not fine, but they won't have to prepare for an unfamiliar opponent. \nIU split a home and home series with Vanderbilt during the two seasons prior. In 2002, the Hoosiers took care of the Commodores with a 73-56 win in Bloomington. Vanderbilt returned the favor in 2003 -- winning 73-60 in Nashville, Tenn.\nIU coach Mike Davis declined comment late Sunday night. Davis said he will comment Monday on the Hoosiers' postseason, but said Friday that his young Hoosiers would benefit from any postseason experience.\n"We need to play more games," Davis said.\nIf the Hoosiers are victorious, IU could play one of four teams. The Hoosiers will play the winner of the Kent St./Western Kentucky and Houston/Wichita St. battle. \nJunior Marshall Strickland said playing in the NIT can benefit the Hoosiers.\n"We're going to play as long as we can and try to win as long as we can -- especially for our young guys," Strickland said Friday. "Getting more experience on the court will benefit us down the road"
(03/12/05 1:19am)
CHICAGO - IU coach Mike Davis and the Hoosiers came into the Big Ten Tournament with its NCAA hopes likely hanging in the balance Friday against Minnesota. \nA little more than two hours later, the Hoosiers left disappointed with their NCAA Tournament hopes looking bleak after a 71-55 loss in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tourney\nIU came into the game having split the previous two match-ups with the Gophers. \nAfter the Minnesota victory, the Gophers had beaten IU two of three times. Davis still said, however, that the Hoosiers should be considered for the NCAA Tournament in part because they were seeded fourth in the Big Ten while Minnesota was seeded fifth. \nThe loss wasn't as detrimental to IU's tournament hopes as most people thought, Davis said. \n"If you evaluate it, was it really on the line?" Davis said. "We're too intelligent of a people not to realize that we finished fourth. We won 10, (Minnesota) won 10. Our strength of schedule is pretty good. Let's not let people talk the NCAA up to only taking three or four teams (from the Big Ten). I think we well deserve to go."\nIU and Minnesota both finished 10-6 in the Big Ten -- which was good to tie the teams for fourth place. Coming into the Big Ten Tournament, the Hoosiers were seeded fourth and the Gophers fifth on the strength of owning a 1-0 record against Michigan State. Minnesota lost twice to the Spartans. \nThe Hoosiers record stands, however, at just 15-13 overall while the Gophers improved to 21-9 with the win.\nDavis still lobbied for his Hoosiers -- remaining adamant that IU deserved an NCAA shot after the loss.\nWith Minnesota's second leading scorer, Jeff Hagen, heading to the bench early in the second half and the Hoosiers only trailing by five, IU hoped to capitalize. The Hoosiers responded with a 7-4 run and cut the Gopher lead to 42-40. \nIU had the Gophers on their heels and Hagen on the bench. The Hoosiers couldn't keep the momentum going though. After Minnesota coach Dan Monson called a timeout to regroup, the Gophers went on an 18-5 run.\nFollowing the run, the lead was 60-45 as the Hoosiers' NCAA façade crumbled. \n"We had the lead down to two and then we just let it slip right back to whatever it was," freshman Robert Vaden said. "We've just got to learn that once we get a team down to try and have that killer instinct. I don't think we had that today."\nThe Hoosiers not having it today transformed Davis from coach to lobbyist.\nFour of Minnesota's starters finished in double figures led by junior Vincent Grier's 16 points. The Gophers benefited more from their senior role players chipping in on the scoring. Brent Lawson, who normally averages 6.8 points per game, scored 15 and Aaron Robinson, who normally averages eight ppg, scored 14.\nOn the contrary, the Hoosiers only had two players in double-figures. White finished with 21 and junior Bracey Wright had 14. No one else scored more than eight points. The Hoosiers only had two points from its bench.\nIU had beaten Minnesota by 15 in Bloomington Feb. 12. Almost a month later, the Gophers were the victors by 16.\n"It's real frustrating. The way we played against them in our place -- it was like we were playing a different team," junior Marshall Strickland said. "I guess that's the fun part about college basketball -- on any given day anyone can beat anyone." \nThe Hoosiers will have to wait until Sunday to see who, when, where, and in what postseason tournament IU will hope to be that team that can beat anyone on any given day.\nIf it was up to Davis, the decision would be an easy one. His team would be playing in the NCAA Tournament.\n"We're in fourth place. We are the fourth seed. We won 10 games, you do the math"
(03/11/05 6:07am)
While the IU men's basketball team currently sits atop the NCAA Tournament's bubble, many Hoosier fans and some college basketball analysts predict that a win against Minnesota would get the Hoosiers into the Tournament.\nIU isn't looking at it that way. The Hoosiers just want to get a few wins in the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago and hope everything takes care of itself.\n"It's not really up to us," said freshman Robert Vaden. "It's up to the selection committee. We're just going to try to go into the tournament and get as many wins as possible and see what happens."\nJunior Bracey Wright said he can't really say if beating Minnesota gets the Hoosiers in.\n"I would hope so," Wright said.\nThe Hoosiers currently stand at 15-12. A win against the Gophers Friday would push IU to 16-12 -- with 11 of its 16 wins coming against conference foes. \nESPN's Andy Katz, a college basketball analyst, said on the air Thursday that IU is trying to highlight its conference record.\n"With 10 wins in the Big Ten, (IU) thinks that's a strong case," Katz said on ESPN's "Sportscenter."\nThe ratings percentage index is a statistic the NCAA Selection Committee uses to measure a team's tournament worth. According to www.collegerpi.com, the Hoosiers' RPI currently stands at No. 69. But cbs.sportsline.com has the Hoosiers at No. 42.\nThe selection committee also considers several other factors, but there is one in particular Davis and IU are counting on.\nThat factor is strength of schedule. Davis has pointed out many times that his Hoosiers played four conference season champions in their non-conference slate. Those teams are North Carolina, UConn, Kentucky and Oral Roberts. Of those teams, though, IU went just 1-3 by beating Oral Roberts Dec. 31.\nAccording to cbs.sportsline.com, IU is No. 10 in strength of schedule.\nThe committee also reviews how well a team has performed recently. IU is 6-4 in its past 10 games, but one of those victories came against Michigan State, a team that currently has an RPI of 20 on www.collegerpi.com.\nThe committee also looks at how a team had done on the road and in neutral sites. The Hoosiers are just 3-9 in that distinction. \nMany Hoosiers said they don't pay attention to all of the college basketball prognosticators. \n"If we would've been listening to what everybody was saying, our season could've gone down the drain because everybody would've been talking about coach Davis," Vaden said. "We just try to go play."\nIf the Hoosiers play well and win some games in the Big Ten Tournament, Davis feels they should secure themselves a spot the Big Dance. \n"If things go as planned," he said, "I think we should be ok."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(03/11/05 5:58am)
IU coach Mike Davis and Minnesota coach Dan Monson are the managers. Bracey Wright and Vincent Grier are the teams' aces. D.J. White and Jeff Hagan are the big clean-up batters. Minnesota has beaten IU once. IU has beaten Minnesota once.\nIn baseball terms, today's game in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament is the rubber match of a three-game series. The winner of the pennant chase possibly makes claim to an NCAA Tournament berth, an opportunity that gives teams the chance to make basketball's version of the World Series -- the Final Four.\nThe commissioner -- or the NCAA Selection Committee -- will be watching. \n"Anytime you've beaten a team, there's always a thought in the back of your mind that you should win," Davis said. "And when they beat you, there's always a thought in their mind that they should beat you."\nMinnesota gained confidence by winning the first game of the series with a 70-65 win Jan. 26. IU returned the favor, minus Wright, with a 71-56 victory Feb. 12 in Assembly Hall to even the series.\nThese games set the stage for the rubber match -- this time on neutral territory, at Chicago's United Center. This time, Davis has Wright back in the lineup, hoping to shoot the Hoosiers past the Gophers and their main hurler, Grier.\nWright leads the Big Ten in scoring. Grier is third. The two will sneer across the diamond, or court, at each other Friday. Grier averaged 18 points in the two games against IU.\nWright, who said he isn't sure if he will start guarding Grier but is sure Grier would guard him at some point, said the Hoosiers know what Grier wants to do. The question is just how to stop him.\n"We know he wants to drive left," Wright said. "I played against him in the AAU circuit a couple of years ago, and I know how he can play. He's a big guy, 6-(foot)-5, really athletic. He came up here and did really well up here and put on a show."\nWhen the clean-up spot in the order comes up, the match-up will center on White and Hagan. Both specialize in driving in points close to the basket. \nHagan also averaged 18 points per game against IU, barely outshining White by two points in head-to-head match-ups.\nWhite weighs 230 pounds, whereas Hagan swings a bigger bat by tipping the scales at 270. White said he knows he's giving up a lot of weight.\n"He's hurt us every time we've played him," Davis said.\nPerhaps Davis will try to pitch around Grier and Hagan, as the pair are the only two Gophers averaging double-digits in points.\nIf the Hoosiers win the rubber match, they'll play the winner of Illinois and Michigan (could be Northwestern). They'll also be one game closer to winning the pennant by making the NCAA Tournament.\n"Our goal is to win the Big Ten Tournament," White said. "If we get a couple of wins, the NCAA Tournament will take care of itself."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(03/10/05 5:06am)
It's 10:43 p.m. Monday. Mac's employee Ben Kulow stands behind the counter. \nHe's busy as six people wait in line while more flow through the doors. This might seem like an everyday scene in convenience stores nationwide.\nThere's one common characteristic, however, among five of his customers. There's a white and blue Styrofoam cup clutched in their hands as if it contains life-sustaining fluids. In the other hand, many customers hold 63 cents.\n"Some people get really weird about their Polar Pops," Kulow said after the onslaught subsided.\nThe white and blue cups are Polar Pop sodas, and what's inside is a soda often containing college students' version of a staple fluid -- caffeine. The Polar Pops come at a student's price of 59 cents, or 63 with tax.\nThe entire package combines to make Polar Pops a favorite of IU students. From satisfying that caffeine fix with a late-night run to grabbing a Mountain Dew on a hot day, Polar Pops are everywhere, and IU students are slurping them down.\nMac's spokesman Graham Bell said Polar Pop sales have increased 30 to 40 percent from last year to this year. In comparison, Bell said, the fountain drink industry is only showing about a 12-percent increase in sales.\n"If you look at the industry, we're way ahead," Bell said.\nThe Mac's location where Kulow works, which students sometimes call the BP, is 527 E. Third St. -- a location near many greek houses on Third Street. \nKulow said many of his customers at that particular Mac's are greeks -- especially members of sororities. He remembers a time during January's recruitment week when 50 or 60 thirsty women mobbed the station at once. Why were they there? You guessed it -- Polar Pops.\n"It's ridiculous," Kulow said.\nDuring an eight-hour shift, Mac's employee Joy Brumbach said, she once saw the same people purchasing five different Polar Pops in five different soda runs.\nThe sodas aren't different from the ones you buy elsewhere. They come out of a machine with 12 "push here" buttons. Each button corresponds to the 12 different soda varieties Mac's offers such as Diet Coke, Pepsi and Mountain Dew. \nBut why are these seemingly regular soft drinks selling like hot cakes?\nSenior Peter Corsaro doesn't understand the allure of the Polar Pop.\n"I always hear people talking about how they're going to BP to get a Polar Pop instead of just going to get a Coke," Corsaro said.\nOne explanation, Kulow said, is the soft-drink creativity Polar Pops afford. He said he sees customers mixing different varieties of soda for a specific combination. \nAnother reason is the Styrofoam cup that holds the drink. Some students love how the cup keeps the soda cold for so long. \n"If you buy a Polar Pop, it'll stay cold for about four hours," Bell said. "In the summertime, that's particularly good."\nSome customers even use the cups as gifts. Brumbach said one customer gave the Polar Pup cup as a gift and Brumbach said she had to write, "You get one free Polar Pop" on the bottom of the cup. \nPerhaps Polar Pops are so popular among students because of the drug they hold -- caffeine.\nSenior Jenny Cash started drinking Polar Pops when she was a sophomore, and through the years said she has developed a slight addiction to caffeine.\n"It's like I need a Polar Pop to study," Cash said. "I usually get them before I go to the library."\nCash is a Polar Pop mixer -- she blends regular Mountain Dew with Diet Mountain Dew.\n"That way I don't feel so bad," Cash said.\nJunior Erin Frazier also purchases Polar Pops because of the caffeine. Frazier usually chooses Diet Coke. She enjoys them because of one other reason as well.\n"They're enormous," Frazier said.\nWhile the caffeine, the cup, the varieties of soda and even the ice attract customers, Bell said Mac's uses a three-pronged approach to promote Polar Pops. Through the soda's quality, variety and low price, Mac's gets the most out of its Polar Pops.\nAnd IU students are getting the most out of their 63 cents.\n"Polar Pop junkies," Kulow said, "they think Polar Pops are better than any other pops."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(03/09/05 6:11am)
Freshman center D.J. White was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year Tuesday, headlining a trio of Hoosiers honored by the conference.\nJunior guard Bracey Wright was named First Team Big Ten by the media and second team by the coaches, and freshman Robert Vaden joined White on the All-Freshmen team.\n"I'm happy and excited for them," said IU coach Mike Davis. "It's been a tough season for them, but they've all made great strides throughout the year and for them to be rewarded is special."\nIf any one Hoosier ran away with his award, it was White. White leads all Big Ten freshmen in points with 13.3 per game, field goal percentage by making more than 58 percent of his shots, and blocks -- averaging 2.1 swats per game.\nThe coaches and the media awarded White as the league's top freshman. White said he's grateful for the award, but there's a lot more he'd like to accomplish at IU.\n"I accomplished my goal at the beginning of the season," White said. "I set out to be the Big Ten Freshmen of the Year and maybe even the national freshman (of the year)" \nThe Big Ten honors weren't the only awards White racked up. The Tuscaloosa, Ala., native garnered freshman All-American distinctions by www.rivals.com Monday and www.collegeinsider.com Tuesday.\nWright was named second team by the coaches for the second straight year and joins Illinois junior and high school teammate Deron Williams on the media's first team. Wright leads the Big Ten with 18.5 points per game, leads the Hoosiers with 4.8 rebounds per game while ranking second on the squad in assists and steals.\nFormer IU and current Washington Wizards player Jared Jeffries was the last Hoosier to accomplish both White and Wright's feats. Jeffries was named top freshman in 2001 and earned first team, all-conference honors in 2002.\nIt's the first time Wright has been named to the Big Ten's top team in his prolific IU career.\nDavis said it's possible Wright's stat line and the Hoosiers record could've looked better if he'd not missed three games with injury.\n"I think if he wouldn't have gotten hurt and we could've won a couple of more games he could've been up for player of the year," Davis said. "We won 10 games, but if we would've won 12 -- that would've been special." \n"You would talk about him the way you'd talk about Dee Brown and those guys. So we're just two games away from putting him in that same class."\nThe award is an honor he strives for, Wright said.\n"It feels pretty good to be on the first team with the players we have in this conference right now," Wright said. "Our biggest thing right now is getting in the tournament. That's really where our focus is."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(03/07/05 5:05am)
Evelyn Tapak had to pinch herself Saturday.\nHer son, Ryan Tapak, was playing his last game at Assembly Hall. It was a sight that four years ago, Evelyn would have never foreseen. \n"I didn't even think he was going to go play college basketball," she said. \nToward the end of Tapak's senior year at Perry Meridian High School in Indianapolis, Evelyn Tapak remembers a conversation she had with her son when his basketball future was in doubt.\n"I said, 'Ryan, I think you can go play ball somewhere in Division I.' And Ryan said, 'No, I want to go to IU.' And I said, 'No, I don't think you can play Division I, Big Ten. You're just not the size,'" Evelyn said. \nBut Tapak did just that. After he graduated from high school, he joined the YMCA and started lifting weights. When he was trying out for the Hoosiers, he didn't tell his mother how it was going.\nThen, the day he made the cut, Tapak called home.\n"I called home and left a message that they could get my shoes out of retirement because I made the team," Tapak said.\nAfter receiving word of her son being an Indiana Hoosier, Evelyn Tapak said she got emotional.\n"When he called and told us he was the next Indiana Hoosier, I just cried, I just cried," Evelyn Tapak said. "He's just a little guy and he wanted to go to IU and now he's playing basketball. I couldn't believe it."\nFour years later, Tapak stood underneath the north basket at Assembly Hall, a microphone resting in a stand in front of him. Fellow seniors Mike Roberts and Mark Johnson waited to speak. \nAs he began, tears started to well in his eyes. His senior day speech was going to be tougher than expected.\n"You know, I told myself all week that it was going to be easy to talk to you guys," Tapak told the remaining Assembly Hall crowd after the Hoosiers blew out Northwestern, 77-55.\nWhen the senior started his speech, Tapak thanked all of his teammates, the cheerleaders, the team managers, the fans and his coaches. He thanked IU coach Mike Davis. He thanked administrative assistant Dane Fife -- who was once a teammate of Tapak's during the 2001-2002 season.\n"It's hard going from somebody who picked on me my freshman year to calling him coach," Tapak said.\nThe skinny No. 34 said he came to Bloomington weighing 145 pounds. He is now listed at 180. Tapak said if you looked at him now you would think the strength coaches didn't do a good job. But they need a raise, Tapak said.\nAnd the end of his speech, Tapak handed the mike to the next speaker, his good friend Johnson. The pair of walk-ons have become synonymous in their four years in Bloomington. Evelyn Tapak said the two are often mistaken for each other.\nAssembly Hall public address announcer Chuck Crabb fell into the same trap when he called Mark Johnson Ryan. \nJohnson quickly corrected Crabb.\n"I'm Mark, that's Ryan," Johnson said before he began his speech. "It happens at least once a day, maybe twice."\nPrior to the speeches, the pair of walk-ons, who've battled their respective ups and downs for four years, ended their last regular season game by passing the ball back and forth as the time wound down.\n"It kind of symbolized all we've been through the past four years," Johnson said.\nJohnson said it hadn't really hit him that it was over. And while Evelyn Tapak has to pinch herself to believe her son is playing at IU, the end of that four-year run came sooner than expected.\n"I can't believe it's over," she said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(03/04/05 6:05am)
Roberts ends 7-year run with IU \nLate in IU's win against Purdue at Assembly Hall, many Hoosier fans were introduced to a nickname that's been around for years.\nWhen Assembly Hall public address announcer Chuck Crabb announced senior Mike Roberts' name when Roberts entered the game, Crabb said, "The boss -- Mike Roberts."\nNot "The Boss" Bruce Springsteen, not "The Boss" Tony Danza, but "The Boss" Mike Roberts? \n"I like Bruce Springsteen's music, but there's no connection there," Roberts said. "He's the millionaire boss so he's the real deal."\nRoberts, who said he verbally committed to IU in October of 1998, will play his last regular season home game Saturday against Northwestern. If the Hoosiers fail to make the NCAA Tournament and end up in the NIT, Roberts could play at Assembly Hall again.\nThe nickname originated in Roberts' early days as a Hoosier. After committing in 1998, Roberts went to prep school in New Hampshire before coming to IU in 2000. \nWhen he was working out with the Hoosiers prior to his playing days at IU, then-player and current administrative assistant Dane Fife gave Roberts a hard time, the senior said.\n"He always bossed me around," Roberts said. "I'd always, not really talk back to him, but just give (Fife) crap and say 'whatever you say, boss.' He started calling me that and that's been my nickname ever since."\nFife said Roberts called him and everybody else "boss."\n"So I one day just got tired of being called boss and just decided to throw it back in his face," Fife said. "And I guess the name stuck."\nRoberts has stuck around through it all. He was here when former coach Bobby Knight was fired. He was here when IU coach Mike Davis led the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament's final game. He was here when the Hoosiers didn't have a winning record last season.\nLast year provided some of his worst memories of his playing days at IU, Roberts said.\n"I try to forget the numbers at this point honestly," Roberts said. "We lost a bunch of home games here that could've gotten us into the NIT or NCAA. Obviously, my first three years before that we'd been really successful in playing for an NCAA bid. (Last year) was really frustrating and disheartening."\nRoberts hoped to contribute more in his fifth and final year, but he hasn't seen the floor much. Roberts has played in just 11 of the Hoosiers' 26 games -- averaging five minutes per outing. The Purdue game, where Roberts scored two points, was the last contest where Roberts saw action.\n"Personally, this year has kind of been a frustrating year in terms of what I've been able to contribute, but that's just how life goes," Roberts said.\nLife has taken Roberts from growing up in Terre Haute, then moving to Eugene, Ore., where he played high school ball. Then, he moved back across the country to New Hampshire where he played one year at New Hampton Prep School before coming to IU.\nPat Knight, Bobby Knight's son, was the IU assistant who mainly recruited Roberts. Roberts committed to the Hoosiers in 1998, knowing he would spend the next school year in prep school.\nRoberts said he only spoke with Bobby Knight five or six times on the phone during the recruiting process. Roberts credited Knight and his staff for sticking with him when they could have withdrawn their scholarship offer, but thankfully, Roberts said, he had a good senior year and played well at prep school.\n"Everything about Coach Knight -- I liked him," Roberts said. "He was honest with me. He didn't promise me much. He told me if you go to prep school, you get stronger, you work hard, and we'll give you a scholarship. He did that and held up his end of the bargain." \n"I respect him a lot and I'm obviously thankful because he's the one who got me a scholarship here."\nOn the team, Roberts said he gets along with fellow seniors Mark Johnson and Ryan Tapak the best. He was also good friends with Kyle Hornsby -- who graduated two years ago. Roberts also lived with Tom Coverdale for two years.\nRoberts has already earned his undergraduate degree as a LAMP major, which is a liberal arts and management degree, and is currently working on a master's degree in sports administration. No. 33 said he will probably be in Bloomington next year trying to finish his master's degree.\nAfter that, who knows, Roberts said.\n"There's a good chance I might like to coach," Roberts said. "If I get that master's in sports administration done, being like a high school A.D. and a coach or something like that."\nIU coach Mike Davis, who said he calls Roberts "boss" sometimes, said he thinks Roberts could be a really good basketball coach. His impact might not be seen in the games but behind the scenes in practice.\n"He's really good in practice," Davis said. "As far as understanding and knowing what you're trying to do, he's the perfect guy for that.\n"Hopefully next year he can be a graduate assistant for us."\nIf Roberts decides to be a coach, there's a chance he could be "the boss" of his own team one day. \nRight now though, he and fellow seniors Johnson and Tapak are just trying to do everything they can to help the Hoosiers earn a tournament berth.\n"It seems like it's flown by," Roberts said. "I can't believe how quickly it's gone. Hopefully we can end it on a big, Big Ten win and go out on a good note."\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.
(03/02/05 6:46am)
MADISON, Wis. -- With 10.1 seconds left and IU and Wisconsin tied at 60, the Hoosiers faced the same situation as they did in Sunday's win against Michigan State.\nThis time, however, the Hoosiers couldn't execute.\nWisconsin's Alando Tucker air-balled a three from the left wing, but Mike Wilkinson rebounded. Wilkinson missed his twisting shot, but Tucker wouldn't be denied as he grabbed Wilkinson's miss off the rim and layed it in as time expired to give the Badgers a 62-60 victory.\n"It was a spot where it was coming right to me and I just grabbed the ball and layed it in," Tucker said.\nIU coach Mike Davis said the Hoosiers played aggressively.\n"I just think coming in here we know it would be a challenge for us," Davis said. "We played the best game we can play."\nThe exact same situation happened Sunday against Michigan State, but the Hoosiers rebounded Kelvin Torbert's missed 3-pointer.\nSophomore Roderick Wilmont was guarding Tucker on the play and forced the sophomore into the bad miss. But Wilmont couldn't keep him off the glass.\n"I should have boxed (Tucker) out," Wilmont said. "I was going up for the rebound too. He got a lucky bounce and he got the ball and scored."\nThe officials consulted the courtside video monitors, but quickly ruled that Tucker's shot counted.\nWilmont had tied the game at 60 after scoring on an offensive rebound following junior Bracey Wright's miss.\nTucker's basket was the first Wisconsin basket since the 9:35 mark in the game.\n"Our guys grew up again tonight," Davis said. "I thought our guys had a chance to win and came up short. To come on the road and hold a team without a field goal for nine minutes, we should win the game." \nThe Hoosiers failed to win their second game against a ranked opponent in three days with the loss to No. 20 Wisconsin. IU had beaten No. 10 Michigan State Sunday to bolster its NCAA Tournament résumé.\nThe Badger's win, however, puts the Hoosiers' backs to the wall again heading into the regular season finale against Northwestern, 4:30 p.m. Saturday and the Big Ten Tournament the following weekend.\nThe last time IU beat two ranked opponents in consecutive games was in January 2002 when the Hoosiers beat then-No. 25 Michigan State and No. 13 Iowa.\nWisconsin's Wilkinson wouldn't allow IU to repeat the feat though as the senior forward scored 28 to lead the Badgers. Tucker had 17.\nIU trailed by seven at half and, unlike the Hoosiers' last visit to the Kohl Center, hung with the Badgers throughout. The Hoosiers fell behind early in the first half, but sensing the game's importance, showed resiliency by scrapping and clawing their way back in it.\nIU trailed by one at 55-54 with 3:10 to play after junior Marshall Strickland's basket and a foul. Strickland missed the free throw, but the Hoosiers gained their first lead on the next possession when Wright hit a pull-up jumper just inside the 3-point line.\nThe teams traded leads for the next two minutes and were tied at 60 with Wisconsin possessing ball. The rest is history as the Badgers continue their dominance in the Kohl Center as they're 29-1 in Big Ten games under current Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan.\nIU hadn't beaten Wisconsin in Madison since Jan. 25, 1998.\nIU started slowly, and Wisconsin led by 10 six minutes into the game. The Hoosiers battled back to cut the lead to five and three points, respectively, but each time Wilkinson stretched the Badger lead back out to double-digits. Wilkinson had 19 first-half points on 8 of 9 shooting. \n-- Contact Staff Writer John \nRodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.