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(03/09/05 5:42am)
In the end, "We Aren't Gonna Lose" lost, "Super Awesome" wasn't, "The Answer" couldn't find one in the win column and "Team Forfeit Win" forfeited all their games. "Godzilla" bested "Artest's Army," "Big Scary Dinosaurs" couldn't take down the "No Names," and "I Don't Know" faced off against "Bo Doesn't Know" in what was surely a contest of who didn't know more. "We Love Mike Davis" never did get a chance to play "Bring Bobby Back," and "We're Dating Your Sister" -- at the advice of an opponent -- treated her well.\nThat's just a snapshot of an often overlooked aspect of intramural sports: Coming up with a team name. Some go for the less-creative route ("Basketball Team"), some boast of their talents ("See Ya in the Finals"), some use it to insult their opponents or themselves ("What Your Mom Does") and some just go with whatever's on their mind ("Too many clothes, not enough booty slappin'").\nFor Josh Downing, assistant director of intramurals, the team name is a chance for students to flex their creative muscles. \n"It's one of the most creative aspects of our program," Downing said. "I think it's pretty important that they can choose the name. It's a neat thing for them to be able to do and, as you see, some teams get pretty creative."\nSenior Dave Fladung captains "He's Just a Little Guy," a basketball team named for a famous line from the film "Tommy Boy." Fladung said using a humorous name helped his squad's approach.\n"It's mostly just supposed to be funny," he said. "We didn't want a name that seemed like we were full of ourselves. If you take yourself too seriously, you forget it's just intramural games. We're pretty much competitive enough, so humor never hurts."\nSexual double entendres are another popular theme -- from basketball's "Premature Shooters" to softball's "Masterbatters" and "We Like Balls Flying at Our Heads." Junior Jocelyn Wesler plays for the latter and came up with the name from a scene in "Clueless."\n"When you're playing softball, the balls are flying at your head and you've got to catch them," Wesler said. "I've played softball my whole life, so I've always liked balls flying at my head. (The name) is fun. When people see who they're playing, they think it's funny." \nWesler also plays intramural football. Her team: "Touchdown My Pants."\nOther names just defy convention -- such as the kickball team named for "Dale Earnhardt's Mustache."\n"We all got big into Nascar and the Nascar hysteria," said Captain Jordan Click, a junior. "We were just fascinated with Dale Earnhardt and there was no more distinguishing trait than his mustache."\nClick said such a strange name amused some opponents and brought the experience into perspective.\n"Some people snicker about it a little bit, but it's something better than a generic name," he said. "I think it's important. A lot of people take intramurals too seriously and you see a team name like that and it relaxes people a little bit."\nFor Downing, one of his favorites is "We're Dating Your Sister," a basketball team captained by graduate student Bob Hayes. \n"It wasn't anything super special, we were just sitting around and it came up at the spur of the moment. It wasn't planned," Hayes said. "It's always nice when you walk into a game and the ref calls out the team names and says, 'We're Dating Your Sister.' The other team might chuckle."\nAfter their last game, an opposing player walked up to Hayes and told him to treat his sister well.\n"I didn't pick up on it at first, but afterwards I laughed about it," Hayes said.\nDowning said his office does encounter team names that are too offensive. In those cases, he said, he talks with the captains and arranges a new name, usually without incident. But he did admit that those who try to blur the line between appropriate and inappropriate sometimes are the most memorable. \n"The ones that stick out the most are ones I probably shouldn't talk about," he said. "But there have been so many of them, there's definitely been some interesting ones." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(02/28/05 5:06am)
Time is ticking for students interested in proposing a show at the John Waldron Arts Center. \nThe Bloomington Area Arts Council will accept applications for shows for its 2005-2006 season until 5 p.m. today for the chance to produce just about any performing art spectacle one can think of in town.\nKaira Hogle, performance director for the BAAC, encouraged anyone with an idea and an artistic passion to fill out an application.\n"Unlike other theaters, we accept proposals for anything from theater to dance to live music to children's events with clowns or puppets," she said. "Our mission is to strengthen and support artists. One way we do that is to work collaboratively with them to present their artistic ideas." \nLast year, the council received 25 applications and approved 18 of them. Those numbers could be a little higher this year, but Hogle said it's too early to know for sure.\n"It's human nature to usually wait until the last day for these types of things," she said. "We've grown significantly since I've been here, so we'll see what we get."\nOnce the applications are received, a committee of board and community members will review all the proposals. Hogle said they will choose based on the strongest applications but also with an eye for scheduling a calendar with diversity and variety in the performances.\nFor those that are selected, the council assists with administrative tasks, marketing, finding underwriting and some of the behind-the-scenes responsibilities. When the curtain is drawn, however, the groups or individuals making the proposals have complete control.\n"We stay out of the artistic side," Hogle said. "They're completely in charge of the artistic side. If they want assistance, we will assist, but only per request."\nMark Bisesi, president of the Bloomington Classical Guitar Society, said he has worked with his organization to propose and put on concerts through the council each of the last three years. \n"I think it's been great," he said of the collaboration. "It's exposure we wouldn't get otherwise. They're skilled in marketing and fund raising. As a small society, we wouldn't have the resources to do it (otherwise)."\nThis year, Bisesi's group is proposing at least two concerts: "Espen Jensen and Friends," a Jan. 28 concert featuring an IU doctoral student and another performance set for Nov. 12 by Goran Krivokapic, the winner of a competition by the Guitar Foundation of America. \n"(It's) been an incredible resource for community artists of all kinds," Bisesi said. "I really appreciate what they're doing; it's great work for the community."\nProposing and producing a show might mean a lot of work, but Hogle said students are still more than welcome to take part.\n"It's a great way for student artists or groups to get exposure they might not get at IU," Hogle said. "It's more practical experience to learn how to put on a show with marketing concerns, rehearsals and things like that. It's a real hands-on experience that students can obtain outside of IU." \nApplications for proposals are available at the Bloomington Area Arts Council's Web site, www.artlives.org/series.html.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(02/23/05 6:13am)
For 10,000 IU students, Webmail is about to get a little more spacious. IU will switch students who signed up for beta-testing to a new, bigger and safer system beginning next week.\nRick Jackson, manager of messaging for University Information Technology Services, said the new system will look just like the old one to IU students, except it will have more than eight times the quota and a number of behind-the-scenes upgrades. \n"The big thing is they will get a 100-megabyte quota," he said. "It's a much larger mailbox, but other than that the front end is the same as today. We're not changing that at this point."\nFreshman Clayton Johnson signed up to be a beta tester for the promise of increased space.\n"I may not use (the added space) now, but possibly in the future," Johnson said. "(It's) just in case I need it."\nBeneath the surface, however, Jackson said the new Webmail will have an environment better equipped to deal with potential problems, thanks to a backup storage network in Indianapolis. \n"The new environment has a much higher tolerance to server outages or disasters," he said. "If something happens to the machine room here, we could be back in production within 72 hours."\nThat, Jackson said, will completely eliminate lengthy outages, like the week-long disruption that took out an e-mail server last October.\n"It's a lot less likely we would have the kind of outage like last fall when IMAP4 went down," he said. "That should never happen in this environment."\nAlong with the increased quota, the new system will also allow for receiving bigger attachments. The old limit of eight megabytes will be bumped to 30, Jackson said.\n"It's the way people are using e-mail today," Jackson said of the larger quotas. "Now, the mailbox size is so small that two messages could put a mailbox over quota."\nSophomore Gabriela Iglesias decided to sign up out of curiosity as well as for more space. \n"I just wanted to check it out and see what it was," she said. "Plus, I saw it gave you 100 megabytes. I'm probably not going to use them all, but why not try it?"\nThe beta testers will be the first 10,000 to be moved to the new system, but everyone will begin to be added starting in early April. At that time, IU's Shakespeare systems and Pine client will no longer work. \nFor those who haven't signed up yet, Jackson said there were about 2,000 slots still available. Students can sign up before logging in at https://webmail.iu.edu/bl. Jackson said that cut-off will stand, at least for now, even if more students were interested in testing the new system.\n"Depending on how things go, we'll probably open it up again to encourage people to move over to the new system," he said. "The more we move now, the fewer we have to move later."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(02/14/05 6:05am)
Three years ago, Scott Bryson and Mandy Sarasien kissed at midnight in the Rose Well House, a nearly 100-year-old stone gazebo on the northeast corner of Dunn's Woods. The two, who are now seniors, were becoming a part of a long-time campus tradition wherein a female student is not officially a "co-ed" until she has done so. \nLate last Saturday night, the two kissed again in the campus romantic hotspot. This time, the stakes were a little higher. Bryson knelt down on one knee and asked Sarasien, his girlfriend of four years, to be his wife. "It's famous for its romantic appeal and its secluded area," Bryson said of the Rose Well House. "And this is something that is only supposed to happen once. So to do it in such a beautiful building is quite nice."\nEver since it was erected in 1908, the Rose Well House has garnered a reputation as the campus destination for romance. Whether it's the midnight kissing tradition, students proposing to each other or couples just hanging out there, its combination of IU's old-style campus beauty and its seclusion by the woods have turned it into a veritable love-nest.\nJust when its romantic occurrences caught on isn't clear, but the gazebo was a gift from IU trustee Theodore F. Rose, a member of Beta Theta Pi. It stands above an old cistern and its stone construction contains portals from the Old College Building at IU's first site.\nRose died in 1919 while still serving as president of IU's board of trustees and soon thereafter the lore surrounding his gift bloomed. An Indiana Daily Student story from 1933 detailed the Rose Well House's merit as a place for Betas to kiss girls they truly loved. It did note, however, that "ordinary 'candying' should be carried on elsewhere than the stone ... of Theodore Rose's memorial." \nIn the 1940s, the gazebo inspired its own short-lived dance, held annually in Alumni Hall with a re-creation of the Rose Well House built inside as its centerpiece. In the 1960s, some students threw a fit when 300-watt lights were installed, seemingly throwing off the privacy it had promised. The tradition, however, persevered and couples continued expressing their love for one another for decades to come.\nBob and Annie Harting are one such couple. Inside their bedroom is a framed photo of the Rose Well House with signatures from guests at their 2002 wedding. Like Bryson and Sarasien, Bob proposed to Annie at the Rose Well House. Though Bob and Annie had never kissed there at midnight, they often visited the gazebo on walks through campus, stopping to chat or just hang out.\nJust before she graduated, Bob surprised Annie and popped the question.\n"I was graduating the next day and we went out for breakfast and he got me up and made some excuse as to why we had to go the Rose Well House," Annie said. "He told me beforehand we had to meet a friend and that got me over there. I was pretty shocked. I didn't anticipate it at all."\nBob said he chose the Rose Well House because he knew he could surprise Annie and because it provided such a pleasant atmosphere. \n"I always liked the area, it's out of the way" he said. "It's very pretty and its such a nice setting on an early Saturday morning. I mean, at 6, 7, 8 a.m., obviously a college campus is pretty dead."\nSenior Jon Riveire had heard about the midnight kissing tradition and found himself at the Rose Wells House one spring night last year after a walk with his girlfriend. It wasn't quite midnight, but Riveire and his girlfriend partook in the tradition anyhow.\n"It was romantic," he said. "It was a nice night, we were just chilling out there right before school got out ... I think it's just really peaceful being out in the woods. And it's the old campus, so it's the prettiest part of campus. It's just a good place to talk."\nDean of Students Richard McKaig has witnessed the tradition of midnight kissing at the gazebo continue over his tenure at IU. He said it has lost some of the meaning it had in the early part of the century when female students had a curfew at 11 p.m.\n"I think that campus folklore and traditions are important," he said. "It's kind of a fun tradition and obviously students are building relationships in college and it's an important time in life. It fits right in with that culture."\nBut McKaig and his wife have never actually done it themselves.\n"Nope, I haven't," he said. "I wasn't an undergraduate here, I was already married and had one kid when I came. But it still might not be a bad idea for my wife and I to try, it just hasn't fit into our schedule. It's maybe something we'll try to do in the future."\nWith the Rose Well House approaching its 100th birthday, the tradition seems to be in no danger of dying out. Riveire, for one, hopes to pass it on to the next generation. \n"Yeah, it's a pretty cool tradition," he said. "If my kids come here one day, I'll tell them about it." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(02/14/05 5:29am)
Playing without one of its best players, the IU men's basketball team put together one of its best games. Despite leading scorer Bracey Wright being sidelined for the second-straight game, IU's bench rallied the team to a 71-56 win against Minnesota at Assembly Hall.\nFreshman guard A.J. Ratliff said although the team wants Wright back from his sprained ankle, it's a positive sign that it can win without him. \n"It's a very good feeling to know you can come out and beat a real good team without your leading scorer," Ratliff said. "I think with or without Bracey, we're starting to gel more on our offense."\nRatliff scored 15 points for IU, and sophomore forward Patrick Ewing Jr. added 15 more off the bench, pacing the Hoosier team to its seventh straight win at home. Ewing also had six rebounds, a pair of assists and only his second three-pointer of the year in the first half.\n"Pat played like his daddy," Ratliff said. "He came out and played a great game, had some smart plays, knocked down free throws when they were clutch. He played great."\nIU overcame poor free-throw shooting in the first half with a 10-0 run to open the second period and built a 39-27 lead. After a pair of free throws by Ratliff, junior guard Marshall Strickland stole the ball and hit a three-pointer to put IU ahead 34-27. Ratliff added a three-pointer as the shot clock expired and IU forced four turnovers and an 0-4 Minnesota shooting performance during the first five minutes of the second half. \n"(Coach Davis) just told us that we could have been up by a lot more if we eliminated their second-chance points and free throws," said freshmen forward Robert Vaden. "So that's what we tried to do (in the second half) and we got off to a 10-0 run. I think we did what he told us to do."\nIU's free-throw woes came to an end as the game clock wound down and Minnesota began fouling. Up to the final three minutes of the game, IU shot only 13-25 from the line. But, with the Gophers sending IU to the line to stop the clock, Ewing and Vaden combined for a perfect 6-6, sealing the win. \nThe Gophers' guard Vincent Grier led all scorers with 21 points and Minnesota center Jeff Hagen added 20, including 12 of 15 from the line. Still, Minnesota coach Dan Monson wasn't pleased with his team's performance. \n"I don't think we had anybody today of the eight guys who played well," he said. "The only guys that shot 50 percent were our centers and they shot 5-10 between them, all lay-ins. We can't win like that."\nIU never trailed in the first half, but Minnesota whittled down the Hoosiers' lead to two by the end of the period, 29-27. A three-pointer by senior guard Mark Johnson with three and a half minutes to go put IU up by nine, but missed free throws gave the Golden Gophers an opportunity. As the clock wound down in the first half, Johnson, Ratliff and junior forward Sean Kline combined to go 0-5 from the line. \nThe Hoosiers will now hit the road for games at Ohio State Tuesday and at Michigan Sunday. IU Coach Mike Davis said the team must win at least one of those games and three or four more overall if it wants to make the tournament. If those numbers sound optimistic, Davis said it might be because he is counting the Hoosiers' Dec. 22 loss against Charlotte as a win. In that game, a questionable call allowed a game-winning half-court shot with 0.7 seconds left by Charlotte guard Brendan Plavich.\n"I just think if we get those nine wins in conference play, we should be in great shape," Davis said. "Because I'm counting that win (against) Charlotte."\nKline said the team anticipates a winning streak. \n"I foresee two wins," he said. "We've got to win out, I believe. And everybody on the team believes we can do that."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(02/08/05 5:46am)
Just outside the southwest corner of Rawles Hall, the biggest yellowwood in Indiana stretches its smooth, brown-barked limbs upward.\nFew, if any, seem to notice.\nThe Indiana Department of Natural Resources' Forestry Department measures and lists the state's biggest arboreal specimens in its Big Tree Register, but IU's lone entry is relatively anonymous among its bare-leafed campus counterparts. And although IU's champion tree might be listed more for the relative rarity of yellowwoods in the state than because of its sheer size, few at IU seem familiar with the distinction at all.\nAsk anyone inside Rawles' Hall, where the math department is housed inside and the tree outside, and people are generally aware of the cluster of yellowwoods -- just unsure about any champion title. Ask inside Jordan Hall's biology department, just a few blocks down Third Street from the tree itself, and some are aware of the yellowwoods, but no one seems to know anything about owning the biggest in the state.\nThis doesn't come as a surprise to District Forester Ralph Unversaw, who is charged with measuring trees in this region for the register.\n"No, to be honest, most people don't know what type of trees they do have," he said. "Most people don't realize the number of different types of trees IU has. But you are not going to be able to find what they have on IU's campus anywhere else. They have species I've never even seen."\nUnversaw has measured IU's yellowwood several times in the last 15 years, for each of the last three editions of the Big Tree Register. It has been the yellowwood champion of the state since then, even though a 1996 snowstorm damaged its trunk. Attaining champion status means it has the highest index number in the state, which is the sum of its circumference four-and-a-half feet above the ground, its total height and a quarter of its crown spread. \nThe crown spread is the average of the widest point and narrowest point above the branches and leaves.\nUnversaw said he hopes to help revive a publication that documents IU's tree life for walking tours. He said he'd like to rejuvenate interest in the impressive trees that IU has.\n"(IU) has such a vast wealth of trees," he said. "There is one in the northeast corner of Dunn's woods -- it's so unusual, I can't even describe it." \nIU's yellowwood will also be the champion in the next edition, which will be released in April. That means the tree will retain its biggest-in-the-state status at least until 2010. \nJanet Eger, who coordinates the Big Tree program for the state, said it's surprising so few are aware of IU's yellowwood.\n"This tree at IU has been champion for quite awhile," she said. "(Promoting the big trees) is up to the landowners. But, we do have some that take a great deal of pride in having champion trees and have very nice signs."\nKeith Clay, biology professor and the director of IU's research and teaching preserve, hadn't heard of IU's champion status but said he is somewhat skeptical of big tree rankings in general. He said those that get nominated are often those that people come in contact with and those people care for differently than if a tree grew without human interaction. \n"It's a little bit of a fluke," Clay said. "You get them in cemeteries, back yards and campuses like IU. Trees in the wild don't grow like this."\nClay said he's more interested in a patch of virgin forest in the Lilly-Dickey Woods in Brown County, a reserve donated to IU in 1942 for botanical research and art studies. He said he thinks some arboreal records could be broken in patches of forest that have never been documented.\n"We think we have some of the biggest," he said. "There are enormous trees out there."\nEger, though, said people should take advantage of seeing such an impressive yellowwood so close to home. She said the best part of her job is seeing the different big trees and the intrigue they evoke.\n"It's as much fun for me to see them as for the people who nominate them," she said. "Part of that is because I often get to meet the people who own the tree and the enthusiasm and excitement they have for the large tree is very contagious."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin \nLesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(02/07/05 6:25am)
The impressionable Super Bowl viewer went to sleep Sunday night dreaming of beer, soda, movies and MC Hammer. With beautiful women, celebrities, a heavy dose of humor and a certain parachute-pants wearing former has-been, the Super Bowl commercials Sunday night peddled the wares of Budweiser, Diet Pepsi, Ameriquest and some of this summer's biggest upcoming blockbusters.\n"They were good, they were funny," said sophomore Emily Biederman, who had to watch the commercials for an advertising class. "A lot of them were very humorous. There were a couple Budweiser commercials I liked -- especially the one where the airplane pilot jumps after the beer." \nThat commercial kicked off the Super Bowl regulation ads and \nBudweiser spots ran throughout the rest of the game. Upcoming movies "Constantine," "Robots," "War of the Worlds" and "Batman Begins" all ran ads and MC Hammer appeared in two different spots -- one for Lays and one for Nationwide Insurance.\nStill, not everyone was pleased with the ads. Senior Jason Robbins said the commercials were disappointing, barring a few exceptions.\n"They were very lackluster," he said. "A lot were not new and others were just directly reporting (the product). Most of the time there is some shock value to them, but there were just like two that were OK."\nAmeriquest sponsored the halftime show and ran ads that seemed to deliver the most laughs. One featured a store clerk mistaking a man talking on his hands-free phone for a thief. When the man says into his phone "You're getting robbed," the clerk attacks him with mace, a bat and a broom. In another, a man is cutting food in the kitchen when his cat knocks over a pot of red pasta sauce. The shot then pauses with the man picking up the red, sauce-stained cat in one hand and his big cutting knife in the other and the narrator saying "Don't judge too quickly. We won't."\nFreshmen Diane Gumina said she liked the Ameriquest commercials best, even though the Super Bowl advertisements as a whole were a letdown.\n"I really liked the cat one, but the whole series was funny," she said. "But, I didn't like the Super Bowl commercials as much as past ones. I thought they were subpar."\nGail McDaniel, an adjunct instructor in the School of Journalism who teaches Principles of Creative Advertising, had her students, including sophomore Biederman, watch and analyze the commercials. McDaniel said the variety of commercials this year focused on attracting college-aged males and had a few surprises in store. Still, she said she was disappointed there was no big, impressive ad as in years past. \n"There was no breakthrough, really creative ad," she said. "You had times when Michael Jordan was on, the 1984 spot that put Mac on the forefront. (Sunday), you didn't see anything like that."\nBut for McDaniel, there was a handful of high points. She said a Volvo commercial featuring Virgin founder Richard Branson flying a spaceship with a bumper sticker reading "My Other Vehicle is A Volvo" is the first time she's seen the car company focus on anything but safety in its ad campaigns.\nMcDaniel said she also enjoyed a McDonald's ad featuring a french fry that looked like Abraham Lincoln and a FedEx Kinko's ad detailing the top 10 things a Super Bowl ad should have. Among those depicted, celebrity Burt Reynolds danced with a talking bear in front of scantily clad cheerleader, complete with a humorous punchline finale: "I really liked you in 'Smokey and the Bandit'," the bear told Reynolds. \n"I thought that was really cute," McDaniel said. \nAs for the overall result, McDaniel said she doubted the ads were effective.\n"What really makes a good commercial is one that makes the cash register ring," McDaniel said. "I haven't seen too many that made me want to buy the product."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin \nLesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(02/04/05 6:15am)
City Coffee and Tea, located on the street level of the Smallwood Plaza, will likely be serving premium beer and wines alongside its cappuccinos and lattes. \nThe Monroe County Alcoholic Beverage Commission voted 3-1 in favor of the alcohol license Wednesday, allowing the establishment to begin selling beer and wine once the license is approved by the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. The commission will likely follow the beverage commission's vote, barring considerable public opposition.\nThe vote came despite concerns from board member Bruce Huot, who said the license could cause problems among the largely underage student population of Smallwood.\n"I just didn't think it was necessary to have a retail alcohol establishment in Smallwood where you have over 400 students -- 90 percent of which are underage," he said. "They're living right above an open liquor closet."\nRusty Nichols, one of the principle owners of City Coffee and Tea, said Huot's worries are unnecessary. Nichols said his store will adapt a training program for employees to make sure IDs are checked vigorously and that the products it will sell might not even be what students want.\n"We'll be offering premium beer and wine at a premium price," he said. "That's not exactly the type of thing college kids want to partake in anyway. We're not going to be serving Miller Lite -- it's not that kind of crowd."\nThe kind of crowd Nichols does hope to attract, he said, is older entertainment-goers from downtown Bloomington who might like to stop by for a glass of wine.\nHuot, though, doesn't buy it.\n"I think it's an unfulfillable wish," he said. "Parking is not good, it's a long way from the theater. ... I don't think you're going to find people in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s are going to go to a place predominately occupied by college students."\nSenior Ankur Bhatt, 21, who lives in Smallwood, said he understands why some people are concerned about the license.\n"I think a lot of people would try to (buy alcohol), maybe underage people with fake IDs and whatnot would look at it," Bhatt said. "Big Red is just around the corner and they card really hard. They'll probably think here they can get alcohol with a fake ID."\nStill, Bhatt said he doesn't anticipate any difficulties. \n"I don't think it should be a problem, if they're good on IDs," he said. "It's a coffee shop -- you might as well make it like a lounge too." \nNichols said having alcohol available helps contrast City Coffee and Tea with the hoard of Bloomington coffee options. \n"It has been part of our business model to have an atmosphere that's an alternative to other coffee houses, like Starbucks," he said. "We want to be different. And not because it's a big part of our business or that it even will be. It's just an appealing option for some."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(02/04/05 6:15am)
When freshman Whitney Moore's New England Patriots do something wrong, her boyfriend slowly scoots away from her side.\n"I've left bruises on him," she said. "They haven't fumbled yet, thank God, but if something big happens -- an interception or a turnover -- I'll hit him or throw my pillow. I'm violent."\nMoore, who is from New Hampshire and has followed the Patriots all her life, is a self-described "extreme" New England fan -- one who will ride the emotional highs and lows of watching her favorite team vie for a Super Bowl win Sunday. She is not alone -- IU's campus is home to more than a few die-hard fans of both the Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles.\nJunior Brian Ossip, who is from Philadelphia, will be leaving his IU home behind this weekend. Early Saturday morning, Ossip will board a plane destined for Jacksonville, Fla., the site of Super Bowl XXXIX. There, he will watch his Eagles play in the title game for the team's first time in more than 24 years.\n"I haven't slept in like two weeks -- since we beat the Falcons at least," he said. "I'm an unbelievably die-hard Eagles fan. It's the most exciting thing that's happened to Philadelphia in my lifetime, that's for sure."\nFor Ossip, "unbelievably die-hard" might be an understatement. Forget the fact that he's traveling nearly 900 miles for the game or that he already flew to Philadelphia to see the team's first-round win against the Vikings Jan. 16. Ossip has four Eagles jerseys -- he wears each one for every game until the Eagles lose. Then, he switches. That is in addition to the black, fitted Eagles hat and the vintage wristbands that he must wear at every game or risk costing his team the win.\n"I can't wait to go," Ossip said. "Most of my friends were pretty jealous, because they're all Colts fans."\nJunior Candice Blackburn is from Indiana but still roots for the Patriots. For those who wonder how she can swear allegiance to the Patriots over her hometown Colts (who she also roots for), Blackburn's fandom is not without reason.\n"It's because I absolutely love Tom Brady," she said. \nBut from those beginnings, Blackburn has grown into a full-fledged Patriots fan who roots for the whole team, not just its quarterback.\n"I cry every year when they win," she said. "I scream, I yell, I become mad. Overall, it's like I'm there playing the game. Friends joke, 'It's not your team, you're not actually playing,' but it means a lot to me."\nFreshman Kelsey Martin wishes she was home in Ambler, Pa., so she could at least take part in the festivities and shared excitement for the Eagles' title drive. Like Ossip, Martin is doing her part. She bought an Eagles jersey in October that she wears on game days. So far, she has washed it only once, but does Febreze it to keep any stenches from mounting.\n"It's very exciting," she said, "but it's hard being away from home and not around the excitement."\nJunior Sam Orleans hails from Brookline, Mass., a suburb of Boston, and has followed the Patriots all of his life. He said he is convinced this team is a dynasty on par with the Steelers in the 1970s.\nFor Orleans, being away from home is just an added element of fun: He gets to rub his team's success in the face of Colts fans.\nLast year, Orleans and a friend wore Patriots jerseys into Mother Bear's Pizza following the team's victory over Indianapolis. He said the two got dirty looks all night, and the waitress joked she shouldn't even be serving them.\n"It's been fun," he said. "I guess it's not so much fun to make fun of people, but to just kind of be a jerk."\nRegardless of the team they root for, or the reasons why, most students agreed Sunday is an intriguing match-up. Moore is hopeful there won't be too much cause for injuring her boyfriend, \n"It'll be a good game," she said. "I don't like to place bets, but hopefully the Patriots pull it out."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(01/25/05 5:44am)
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. -- Eric walks slowly with a stutter in his gait and a cane at his side. If he lifts his black pant legs, there are clear plastic braces wrapped around both shins, but he does not hobble, and he is not visibly tattooed with any permanent scars.\nHe does not look like a man who has suffered two broken vertebrae, two fractured femurs, two dropped feet, a shattered right knee, a bruised heart and a punctured and deflated lung. \nHe does not look like a man who is pieced together inside by titanium rods, pins and plates.\nHe does not look like a man who survived an eight-story plunge from the top floor of Ballantine Hall less than a year ago. But Eric did, and now he is getting better. \nThe 23-year-old Eric, whose last name is being withheld to protect his privacy, spent 2 1/2 months in a hospital bed overcoming what he now knows was a big mistake. On April 19, 2004, he ran up the front flight of stairs at Ballantine, smashed a chair through the bolted window and sentenced himself to death. But somehow, with the floors he'd just climbed flying past him in reverse faster than he could comprehend, Eric did not die. "I didn't have time to think," he said. "It was just, I was there and then so fast out. I shut off the world and I went as far as I could, and then all of a sudden I woke up and I was in the hospital."
(01/24/05 6:23am)
When freshman Clare Bircheff found that Men's Health magazine ranked her hometown Fort Wayne as the dumbest in the country, she was dumbfounded. \n"I just wonder where they get the right to think they can tell us how much knowledge people have," Bircheff said. "Shouldn't they be more concerned with health than knowledge? How can Men's Health base a whole city on whether it's dumb or not?"\nBircheff is one of a large population of IU students from Fort Wayne who heard through the news, relatives or friends that their hometown was perhaps not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Fort Wayne took the top spot, falling beneath Corpus Christi, Texas., Laredo, Texas, Las Vegas and Newark, N.J., for Men's Health's recognition as least intelligent.\nSophomore Brian Adams found out about the dubious distinction while watching the news this week. Adams is a member of Phi Kappa Psi and is the only brother there from Fort Wayne. \nThat, he said, meant he had to endure more than a few jokes this week.\n"The guys in the house gave me a hard time, but I don't think it's a big deal," Adams said. "They've been making fun of me, but I just thought it was pretty funny."\nAdams said he had heard Fort Wayne was the fattest city in the country before, but dumbest took him a little bit by surprise. If it were up to him, he said the dumbest city would probably be somewhere in Tennessee or Kentucky.\n"I was surprised," he said. "I never run into many stupid people in Fort Wayne."\nSenior and Fort Wayne native Nicholas Byall's cousin told him about the ranking as a joke. \nHe said it reminds him of the Princeton Review naming IU the No. 1 party school in 2002. In that case, he said the ranking was off because there were extraordinary circumstances, namely huge celebrations following the basketball team's run to the national championship game. \nSo did Fort Wayne do something really dumb recently to skew the results?\n"No, not that I can think of," Byall said. "I don't see how it's any different than any other city. I don't think anybody is making any big decisions on where to live by a survey like that." \nFreshman Whitney Beeson said she didn't think her hometown was particularly dense, and wondered how anyone could judge an entire city for its intelligence.\n"I don't understand how you could come up with that," she said. "I don't know how you could classify a 'dumb city.'"\nThe Men's Health rankings weren't all bad news. The magazine also listed the flip side, naming the smartest cities in the country. Minneapolis took the top spot, followed by Boston, Denver, St. Paul, Minn. and Seattle.\nSenior Debbie Stein hails from Minneapolis and said she knows a few students from Fort Wayne.\n"I know we have a lot of desirable qualities in our city, and those have been created because of intelligent people that live there," she said. "Everybody always thinks Minnesota is all farmland in the middle of nowhere, so anything that can help us, I'll brag about."\nStein said she will have to think a little while to come up with just the right thing to tell her "less intelligent" Fort Wayne friends.\n"Oh, it will be good, don't you worry," she said.\nWhile most Fort Wayne natives laughed off the ranking, Byall offered a somewhat more optimistic viewpoint.\n"At least Fort Wayne was mentioned," he said. "It's kind of interesting to see your hometown in a big magazine with big circulation. It peaks your interest a little bit. But it's the same as if it was something good happening, if it wasn't being the dumbest city in the country."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(01/21/05 6:41am)
It meant missing three days of classes, but nothing was going to keep junior Tyler Wallace from attending George W. Bush's presidential inauguration. Wallace, a member of the IU College Republicans, jumped at the chance when the student political organization offered its members tickets to attend the historic ceremony.\nWallace hopped on a plane to Washington, D.C. Wednesday and found himself about 100 yards from the Capitol Building by Thursday morning. \n"It's just a really neat experience to be standing there with the president, congressmen and senators from all over right in front of you," Wallace said by phone Thursday from Washington, D.C. "You never imagine you'd be here. It's something you only see in textbooks or on TV."\nOther IU students also joined in the inaugural festivities -- both to cheer on and to protest Bush as he officially began his second term.\nSophomore Mike Luurtsema got in a van headed for the nation's capital Wednesday with a group of Bloomington protesters he didn't even know. Twelve hours later, he was marching the streets of D.C. opposing the president.\n"Honestly, on election night I decided to go, before Kerry even conceded," Luurtsema said. "I thought it was common sense to vote Bush out of office. Being in Indiana, I felt like my voice wasn't heard. So I thought by coming out here, I would make it heard."\nJunior Michelle Myers flew to D.C. after a friend had an extra ticket to the inauguration. They ended up almost directly in front of the Capitol and later attended the Constitutional Ball at the Washington D.C. Hilton.\n"It's kind of surreal," Myers said. "It's exciting, and being in the action, actually knowing that I worked hard and tried to get out to vote for Republicans in Indiana, makes it special."\nJunior Chase Downham also attended the event -- though his travel time was a little shorter than the others'. Downham is interning with Indiana Congressmen Mike Pence, R-Ind., this semester through the School of Public and Environmental Affairs' Washington Leadership Program. \nDownham had been hoping to attend the inauguration and found out at the last minute he'd be up close to the ceremony. He watched from the lawn of the Capitol on the House side.\n"It was really just amazing," Downham said. "For a kid that grew up in small-town Indiana, it was a lifetime experience. I don't know if it was the cold or the awe, but I had chills the whole time."\nHe said just being in D.C. has been a great experience, but witnessing such a monumental event is truly memorable.\n"The sun was out and the way it shone on the Capitol made a magical scene to it all," he said. "I don't know if you ever get used to things like that, even people that live in D.C. all the time. It's hard to believe you're even there."\nSecurity at the inauguration was intense: Downham waited nearly two hours to get in, and Wallace said police were everywhere -- among the crowd, on top of buildings and walking the streets. Wallace even rode with four German shepherd police dogs on the plane ride from Chicago, flown in for the inauguration.\n"It was incredible," Wallace said. "Not a single person in the security field in D.C. got the day off. It was safe, to say the least."\nMyers only missed two classes, and one of them was a political science course -- U.S. Presidential Elections. That professor, Myers said, wasn't reluctant to excuse her absence. \n"His reaction to me coming to Washington was, 'If you can get me a ticket, that's great, I'll excuse it,'" Myers said. "But really, he said it was fine, that it would be excused. I told (the class) I'd bring back pictures."\nLuurtsema also missed three days of classes. He said professors were generally receptive to his protesting mission.\n"I told all my professors where I was going and most were very supportive," he said. "One even told me to protest the heck out of it. Now I'm excited to start getting more active in this sort of thing."\nWith a heap of work awaiting his return to Bloomington, Wallace said the experience was worth it.\n"Most of my professors were really understanding, but I'm sure there will be some work," he said. "It was definitely worth it. This only comes around every four years, and if you get the opportunity to go, it's definitely a great experience."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(01/19/05 4:53am)
FOXBORO, Mass. -- After losing to New England 20-3, the Colts will watch the next round of the playoffs from home. Despite the disappointment of defeat, Indianapolis players and coaches agreed next weekend's matchup -- between New England and Pittsburgh -- should be a great game.\n"I'm running out of compliments to pay them," said quarterback Peyton Manning of the Patriots. "I give them a lot of credit, they're an excellent team. They play well when they need to play well. It's going to be two good teams playing next week in the championship game."
(01/19/05 2:25am)
Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan returned to his old stomping grounds Thursday to discuss a partnership between IU and the city that could bolster Bloomington's future. Kruzan addressed a new class at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs that will work with the city to promote sustainability, a method of dealing with resources and issues in the present without compromising the future.\n"It's very encouraging," said Kruzan, who was an adjunct professor at SPEA for 12 years. "It puts some reality to what's been conceptual for months. We've been trying to get a commission on sustainability created to make it part of our economic development strategy and now we're having a partnership between the University and the city and making it real."\nThe three-credit undergraduate class, "The Sustainable City," is taught by Paul Schneller, who introduced Kruzan and said his students will work hand-in-hand with the city to develop plans and ideas to make Bloomington more sustainable.\nFirst, Schneller said the class will break up into teams and research sustainability indicators on 12 topics, ranging from transportation to housing to energy and land uses. Those reports will then be turned over to the city for consideration.\nSchneller said the fact that the mayor was willing to come and talk to the students showed a positive first step in the project.\n"I think the fact that the mayor was here and willing to give a speech was the most important part," Schneller said. "His heart is there, his energy is there and that's what is important. When you have someone with vision and leadership like that, then I think the words are less important than the actions that are eventually taken. And I expect him to be an active participant in moving sustainability forward in this community."\nKruzan spoke about the importance of sustainability for a city in terms of topics like resource use, job rates, poverty, homelessness, crime, volunteerism, public service and environmental concerns. \nKruzan said the first objective to making it work is getting over the negative and partisan connotations people wrongly associate with it. He said the issue should not be whether a program is pro-business or pro-environment, but it should benefit both.\n"Keeping Bloomington and the community an attractive place to live and to work is good business," he said.\nSenior Mike Herdrich is in the class and attended Kruzan's lecture. Herdrich said he thinks the course can make a difference in Bloomington, especially given the support the city government showed. In addition to Kruzan, a number of city councilmen sat in the audience, choosing to attend the class on their free time.\n"I think (we) can accomplish better use and better efficiency of our resources and hopefully a longer-lasting, more sustainable Bloomington," Herdrich said. "I definitely think we can (make a difference), just because of the interaction with all the councilman here today. It seems like everyone is very involved in what's going on."\nKruzan said the program will help students find jobs while at the same time providing a better future for all walks of Bloomington residents. \n"If it works, it's a win-win," Kruzan said. "Students are finding academic and professional opportunities. And all of us, students or not, benefit from living in a better community."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin \nLesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(01/18/05 4:25pm)
FOXBORO, Mass. -- Going into Sunday's game, the Patriots had never lost in the snow and Peyton Manning had never won in New England. Leaving it, not much had changed.\nNew England stifled the powerful Colts offense, holding it to only a field goal and Manning without a touchdown pass, winning 20-3. Patriots running back Corey Dillon paced the Patriot attack, catching five passes and running for 144 yards.\n"We came up here with very high expectations and just ran into a better team today," said Colts head coach Tony Dungy. "They've beaten us four times in a row now, all different games, but that's one thing about them - they find a way to win."\nThe Patriots defense forced three turnovers -- a pair of fumbles and an interception -- and kept Manning from connecting with his favorite deep targets. Wideouts Brandon Stokley, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, who each had 1,000-yard receiving seasons, were held beneath 100 yards. Manning, who led the league in completions of 20 yards or more, threw his longest pass of the day for 18 yards.\nDungy said the Patriots changed their defense, from man-to-man to zone to blitzing, but his team couldn't find the right time for a long pass down the field.\n"We really didn't get a deep ball today," he said. "It's something we were looking for, but it just didn't materialize."\nThe Patriots scored the game's first points, taking a 3-0 advantage on a 24-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri. The Colts followed with a three and out drive. The Patriots then added another field goal after Dillon broke through the Colts defense for a 42-yard gain. The run marked the third longest in Patriots playoff history. \n"Their offensive line did a great job opening some holes for Corey Dillon," said Colts linebacker David Thornton. "He's a great back, and he's had a wonderful year this year, over 1,600 yards. We just didn't play well enough to win the game today."\nWith time running down in the first half, the Colts finally found their offense. Manning hit eight of nine passes, leading his team to the 5-yard line. But an incomplete pass to Wayne in the end zone with two seconds remaining forced a field goal.\nIn the second half, the Patriots dominated both the clock and the scoreboard, building their lead and keeping the Colts from having the ball. Dillon and running back Kevin Faulk carried the ball 11 times on a 15-play, 87-yard scoring drive in the third quarter that ended in a 5-yard touchdown pass from Brady to David Givens.\n"(Dillon) made some good runs -- he was bouncing off people and slashing," Dungy said. "He's obviously helped them. He and Kevin Faulk both, that's where they hurt us... He ran well and he's given them an added dimension for sure."\nThe Patriots would add a 94-yard drive that lasted 7:24 and ended on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Brady into the endzone.\n"Obviously, their offense did an excellent job of (not only) maintaining the ball but scoring at the same time," Manning said. "It's one thing to have the ball a long time and you don't score, but they did a good job finishing those drives."\nFor the Colts, the year came to an end just like it began: with a loss to the Patriots. The team lost to New England 27-24 in the first game of the season. It was also reminiscent of last season, when the Colts fell at New England in the AFC Championship game.\nFor Manning, who finished with 238 yards, an interception and a passer rating of 69.3, the loss was hard to swallow.\n"The simple fact is we got beat," he said. "I always feel like I need to do my part to help my team win and usually I do. But when you don't win, I take it personally and feel responsible and accountable. I'm disappointed I couldn't do my job better."\nThornton said he couldn't predict next week's game, but this week's went to the better team.\n"Are they the best team? I don't know," he said. "But they were clearly the better team today."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin \nLesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(01/18/05 4:11pm)
FOXBORO, Mass -- Peyton Manning is many things. He is his team's emotional leader and its focal, star player. He is the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year, its nearly unanimous Most Valuable Player and its newly anointed record holder for most touchdown throws in a season ever.\nBut for Manning, it is what he is not that seems to matter most. And he is not Super. Not this year, anyway. \n"It was an excellent run, a fun run," Manning said. "But obviously when you finish with a loss in the playoffs, it's disappointing. That's not the way you want to finish it."\nThroughout the playoffs, Manning's regular season accomplishments -- throwing for a record 49 touchdown passes -- seemed to dwarf his postseason ambitions. He constantly answered questions about what the record means and its value if the team did come up short. Sunday, he pondered that question for the first time knowing his many accomplishments would not be accompanied by a Super Bowl title. \n"As far as what happened this year and some of the things we've done, maybe when I retire a long time from now you'll look back and think about," he said. "But right now, it's hard to look back and think about anything but losing this game."\nColts coach Tony Dungy was quick to defend Manning after the loss and to note that the team didn't play well as a whole, not just the quarterback. Manning finished with 238 yards, completing 27 of 42 passes. He did not throw a touchdown, but he did have one interception.\nDungy said there are plenty of places the Colts could have performed better.\n"I don't think we can look at it that way as Peyton's got to do this or do that," Dungy said. "We'll look at the tape and we'll see a lot of ways that we can play better. And I know that's what's going to be said and written, but you win as a team and that's the only way you can beat these guys, with a total team effort."\nTight end Marcus Pollard echoed those sentiments after the game. He said Manning is just one part of a bigger team and that heaping criticism on him isn't right. \n"(It's) totally unfair. He gets a lot of credit, and when we lose, he gets that too. But I think it's totally unfair to put the brunt of the weight, all of the weight on his shoulders," he said. "This is a team -- defense plays, I play, special teams play. To say he is the reason we lost this game is totally ludicrous."\nManning, who has a career 92.3 passer rating, just finished his seventh season in the NFL. Though winning has not been a problem for Manning in the regular season -- the team has advanced to the playoffs four of the last five years - advancing from there has not come as easily.\nWith seven years played in the NFL, Manning said he plays every game like it's his last, but that mentality is no different from how he played as a rookie. Dungy said it's hardly time to start worrying that Manning will end his career like the man whose touchdown record he just eclipsed. Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino was never Super. \n"Being a historian, I can remember some other guys where it was said," Dungy said. "(San Francisco quarterback) Steve Young was in our building the other day. The same thing was said of him for a while and now he's going to go into the Hall of Fame. I can remember when (Denver quarterback John) Elway couldn't quite win a Super Bowl, and we all hoped he'd win one. Looking back, he had a great career, and he didn't win his until way down the road."\nAt the opposite end of the spectrum is Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Brady inherited the starting job in New England as a rookie and immediately led the team to a Super Bowl title. Two years later, he did it again. This year, with the win Sunday, he is another victory from going back there for a third time in four years. \nBrady, though, complimented Manning's effort and said he expected the two would meet again.\n"The defense made it very tough on him (Sunday)," Brady said. "But he stayed in there and played well in some tough playing conditions. When you see him you, just say 'good game, great year and we'll see you next year.'"\n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin \nLesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(01/14/05 2:02pm)
Somewhere in IU graduate Max Semenick's Bloomington house there is a monkey locked in a trunk. He will remain there so long as the Indianapolis Colts remain in the playoffs.\n"I live with 10 other guys and they're all Colts fans," Semenick said. "You can't even call over here during the game. We're all pretty nuts. We had a (stuffed toy) touchdown monkey, but the Colts lost, so now he's locked in some guy's trunk."\nBut there is one thing that separates Semenick from his fellow fanatical roommates -- their Colts cravings are all inherited, his are learned. As the Colts prepare for another playoff game 4:30 p.m., Sunday in New England, Semenick is one of a growing contingent of Colts fans whose love for the team began when they came to IU.\nFor Semenick, that meant leaving behind his hometown Cincinnati Bengals. With more losses than any team in the 1990s, waving goodbye wasn't such a difficult task. \n"My freshman year, I couldn't watch the Bengals anymore when I came to IU," he said. "But they were just as bad then, so it didn't matter. Indianapolis has this clean-cut, all-American feel. It's easier to root for them. And they win, so that helps."\nSemenick is not alone. Sophomore Aaron Allen came to Bloomington from California and began beaming with state pride as soon as he learned IU accepted him. That included becoming a die-hard Colts follower.\n"A lot of people think I'm a bandwagoner because when I came they started doing well," he said. "I can see why they'd say that, but I'd cheer for the Colts even if they were the worst in the NFL."\nAllen has attended a few Colts games and never misses them when they're on television. He said he finds it especially hard to concentrate this week, with the Colts preparing for a game against rival New England and classes demanding his attention.\n"I'm always tense. You never know how they're going to come out," Allen said. "This Sunday in particular, that's all I can think about because I really hate New England. I really do believe the Colts are going to win the Super Bowl."\nJunior Jessica Mullholand grew up in Minnesota rooting for the Vikings, but changed this year. Mullholand and a friend born in Indiana went to the Colts-Vikings game hoping their rival allegiances would land them on the JumboTron. Instead, after seeing all the Colts fanatics and the team beat the Vikings 31-28, Mullholand switched sides.\nBut with a little luck, Mullholand could face a rematch between her old and new team in the Super Bowl as the Vikings play Philadelphia at 1 p.m. Sunday.\n"Oh, that'd be tough," she said. "I think I'd definitely root for the Colts on the outside, but maybe I'd be a little bit happy if the Vikings won."\nRecent IU graduate Elizabeth Finn used to cheer on her hometown Kansas City Chiefs, but dated a Colts fan at IU and quickly became enamored with Indianapolis. \n"I fell in love with Peyton Manning," she said. "I'm a big fan. I yell and scream at the TV. "\nFinn graduated in May and moved to Denver, but didn't switch allegiances again.\nShe always wears a blue Colts jumpsuit on game days. Sometimes, if the Colts play on Monday night, that means challenging her office dress code and turning some heads.\n"It's business-casual attire, so everybody is like 'What in the heck is she wearing?" said Finn, who ordered NFL Sunday Ticket, a premium TV package, just to watch the Colts games. "I think people believe me when I say I'm a Colts fan now."\nEach of the Colts converts said they are confident the team will advance to the AFC Title Game. That's something Semenick said he and his Indiana native roommates can all agree on. \n"We're not too crazy nuts," said Semenick, who predicted a 35-21 win, "but it's the most depressed household you'll see if (the Colts) lose." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin \nLesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
(01/14/05 1:57pm)
Steve Alford, Rick Majerus, heck what about Isaiah Thomas? \nWith the losses compiling for the Hoosier basketball program, speculation has been rampant as to not if, but when, IU Athletics Director Rick Greenspan will pull the plug on Mike Davis' coaching career in Bloomington, and the names being spouted off as possible replacements seem laughable. \nWith 13 games remaining in the 2004-05 season, it seems as most Hoosier fans have already thrown in the towel and given up on this team, and more noticeably, Davis.\nI, a critic of the Hoosier coach, realize it isn't plausible nor reasonable for Greenspan to lower the axe. After just firing football coach Gerry DiNardo, IU is forced to pay the departed coach more than $600,000. Now if Greenspan were to fire Davis, a $737,500 buyout awaits him. And whether or not rumors of IU alumni willing to pony up the cash are true or not, it doesn't make sense financially for an athletics department that has been mired in debt for years. The alumni aren't paying off DiNardo's bill, nor are they forking over the sums to pay new football coach Terry Hoeppner. So they'll pay for Davis' buyout? How about the new coach's salary? Names like Alford, Majerus or even Thomas won't come cheap. \nSo, step back and take a look. Be objective and put aside any personal feelings toward Davis. Hate him, like him, it doesn't matter. Davis doesn't deserve to be fired -- just yet, that is. \nIt's always tough succeeding a legend, and Davis was put in the position of filling some of the loftiest shoes in college basketball, succeeding a coaching icon will do that. \nIn only his second year, he won a share of the Big Ten title and guided the Hoosiers to the National Championship game. The argument that Davis achieved such a feat with Bobby Knight's players doesn't hold much water, seeing as the General, with those same players, hadn't been to the Final Four since 1992.\nDavis was being labeled a hero, a fresh face for IU to move forward and maintain its appeal as one of the nation's premier basketball institutions. Two and a half years later, with the school's first losing season in 34 years, and a mediocre start to this season, the luster has worn from Davis' star.\nA gauntlet of a non-conference schedule saw the Hoosiers drop six games, including losses to current No. 3 North Carolina (14-1), No. 9 Kentucky (11-2) and No. 12 UConn (9-3). The Hoosiers six non-conference losses came against teams with a combined 64-17 record, good for a .790 winning percentage. Among the six losses, the Hoosiers average margin of "loss" was a mere six points. Not too bad compared to the competition facing the cream and crimson. Losses to Charlotte (11-2) and Missouri could have, and should have been, IU wins, but with a young team which starts three freshmen, close games going the other way can, and should, be tolerated. \nThe Big Ten schedule entered the picture with a disappointing display at Northwestern, but a big home win against a game Wisconsin team has renewed some optimism. \nAnd the schedule which haunted the Hoosiers in November and December gives IU a stay of execution with a visit to hated in-state rival Purdue (4-9, 0-3 Big Ten). In Gene Keady's final season along the Boilers' sidelines, the Gene Pool and Tippecanoe County can sympathize with IU fans, having faced tough non-conference foes with a similar success rate as the Hoosiers. However this weekend, the winner will be rejuvenated and the loser buried.\nEven if Davis can't salvage the 2005 season, there will be renewed optimism in 2006 with the Final Four just up the road in the RCA Dome. Did I just say Final Four, Mike Davis and 2006 in the same sentence? I did. This is a team that doesn't start a senior and will welcome big man, powerhouse transfer Marco Killingsworth into the fray, along with the very talented Aussie Ben Allen. Davis has loaded his team with the necessary weapons to make the disheartened forget and forgive.\nThe 2005 season will mark the end of Gene Keady's tenure in the Big Ten and if Mike Davis wishes to avoid a similar fate, the coach will need to do one thing -- win. Because next year if the Hoosiers -- with their loaded lineup -- make a run to the Final Four, we wouldn't want to use the excuse, "Well, he did it with Mike Davis' players"
(01/11/05 5:12am)
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player for the second straight year Monday. The award came a day after Manning directed the Colts to a 49-24 first-round win over the Broncos and a week after a season in which he set the record for touchdown passes with 49.\nManning received all but one of the votes from Associated Press writers, with the lone dissenter choosing Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. \n"(Manning) plays well in big games," Colts Coach Tony Dungy said. "We're glad he's on our side."
(01/10/05 6:08am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- When Peyton Manning plays, records fall.\nIf Sunday was any indication, opposing teams do, too. \nManning passed for the most yards ever in a regulation playoff game, leading the Indianapolis Colts to a 49-24 win over the Denver Broncos Saturday in the RCA Dome. After setting the regular season touchdown record with 49 scoring strikes, Manning threw for 457 yards and four touchdowns, ran for another and connected on 27 of his 33 passes. \n"This was one of those times when he was in the zone, just making all the throws," said wideout Reggie Wayne, Manning's favorite target of the day. "He did a great job putting us in the right position."\nWayne hauled in roughly half of Manning's offensive output, catching 10 balls for two touchdowns and 221 yards, the third most in postseason history.\n"Reggie's had an outstanding year all season long," Manning said. "Whoever's guarding Reggie has been up for a challenge...He had a heck of a day, a heck of a day. I'm proud of him."\nColts head coach Tony Dungy said the team did a good job exploiting Broncos rookie cornerback Roc Alexander, who covered Wayne. \n"We thought they were going to play man coverage, we thought we had a good match-up over there, and we took advantage of it with Reggie," Dungy said.\nAfter punting on the game's opening series, Manning directed a nine-play, 76-yard drive ending in a high, lofted touchdown pass to fullback James Mungro. \nOn their next drive, Manning connected with tight end Dallas Clark once for 24 yards and later for 31 yards, setting up a one-yard Edgerrin James touchdown run. \nManning returned to Clark in the second quarter, throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass that Clark caught sliding to his knees in the middle of the endzone. \n"(Clark) practiced well all week, and Peyton made an effort to get him the ball early and often," Dungy said of Clark, "Dallas is a tremendous player, he's a great receiver. He's going to be a big-time tight end in this league."\nA failed Broncos onside kick set up Wayne's first touchdown and gave the Colts a 28-3 advantage at the half.\nIn the second half, Indianapolis added a Manning score on a quarterback sneak and Wayne's second touchdown. \nDenver challenged the Colts defense in the second half, outgaining them 235-134 in the half, but it wasn't enough.\nThe Colts now will turn their attention to defending Super Bowl champion New England. Manning said he's eager to atone for last year, when the Colts lost in the AFC Championship game and he threw four interceptions.\n"We haven't won up there yet," he said. "I played like an absolute dog last year, no ifs, ands or buts about it. I'd like to play better this time around so hopefully we can get a win."\nManning said he probably would not speak this week with his friend, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady who has two Super Bowl rings.\n"(The Super Bowl) is extremely important, it's what I want to do," he said. "Individually, I have accomplished a lot in a short period of time. I really have. But there's no question that we haven't won a Super Bowl since I've been a quarterback here." \nDungy said the team will savor the win for a little while and then get back to business.\n"We haven't even really thought about New England yet," Dungy said. "I told our guys it's not even time yet ... We'll get that ready on Wednesday. But playoff games are special, and they need to enjoy this one." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Gavin Lesnick at glesnick@indiana.edu.
