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(10/06/03 6:44am)
Some things in life we take for granted.\nThere will be a quiz the one day that you miss class. The drivers from the state bordering yours will always be worse. Someone less competent than you will be promoted. The person you are currently dating will soon dump you. And the Hoosiers will lose on the road.\nSaturday's 31-3 loss at Michigan State was nothing short of abysmal. It was a game that made Gerry DiNardo say, "I think we took a step backwards."\nYet as badly as IU played, it could have kept it close with a few lucky breaks. But not in this game, which was played well within the boundaries of Murphy's Law. Everything that could go wrong did.\nIn the second quarter, MSU quarterback Jeff Smoker hit wide receiver Matt Trannon with a ball that bounced straight into the air as three Hoosier defenders converged around Trannon. The ball came straight down into Trannon's hands. One play later, the Spartans were in the end zone.\nIU kicked off to open the second half. The return was fumbled, but Michigan State managed to fall on the ball even though there were three Hoosiers in the vicinity. Michigan State also got a penalty tacked onto its return, which meant its second half started at its own 6-yard line.\nThe proceeding drive made one seriously wonder if IU had traded Babe Ruth back in the day. MSU got another lucky break when tight end Eric Knott fumbled a catch and saw it recovered by his teammate, running back Jaren Hayes.\nLater in the drive, Smoker had the ball stripped by Herana-Daze Jones. Somehow, Smoker managed to fall on his fumble, setting up a 49-yard field goal on the next play. \nOn the next possession, IU drove the ball with ease and made it to the MSU 30-yard line. Running back Chris Taylor fumbled. Michigan State recovered. \nThe Spartans next drive likely made uncle Gerry wish he had slept in. Or wonder if some Michigan State fan had an IU voodoo doll. A Smoker pass that hit leaping IU cornerback Leonard Bryant in the chest deflected straight into the hands of Michigan State receiver Kyle Brown, who managed to put one foot down before falling out of bounds. \nWhen the Hoosiers appeared to catch their first break of the game -- a fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown -- it was not to be. MSU running back Hayes was called down because of forward progress.\nA few plays later, Michigan State did fumble the ball. And recover. On the very next play, the Spartans fumbled again. And recovered again. \nDo I have to mention that the drive ended in a Michigan State touchdown?\nStrange Tradition\nMichiganders have a strange tradition when it comes to field goals and extra points. When a field goal or extra point from the opposing team comes into the stands, both Michigan and Michigan State fans proceed to pass the ball to the higher rows of the stadium until someone in the final row tosses the ball out of the stadium. I'm guessing this makes them the bane of equipment managers everywhere.\nOf course, it would be a pretty easy tradition to start at Memorial Stadium, since the first person to catch the ball would probably be in the last row of the stands already.\nIU MVP\nYes, someone was actually worthy of accolades Saturday. That person is wide receiver Glenn Johnson, who made several nice grabs and finished the game with six catches for 70 yards. Freshman running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis also impressed, with 24 carries for 90 yards against a defense that came into the game ranked second in the country against the run. Despite these solid performances, the Hoosiers still could not put the ball in the end zone.
(10/03/03 6:26am)
As it so frequently occurs, I was interrupted the other day by none other than my old accomplice Stanley Q. Studmuffin. Since he has spent the past week intensely focused on Calgary Flames preseason action, he's been left in the dark about IU football. So he left me some questions to answer about this week's game.\nIU and Michigan State play for the Old Brass Spittoon. I dig the Spittoon, but where did it come from? Do any schools play for a Golden Urinal?\nThe Brass Spittoon has been awarded to the winner of this game since 1950, though the Spittoon itself is well over 100 years old. The trophy was started by the student council at Michigan State, which was apparently jealous over the rivalry that Michigan and Ohio State had and wanted someone they could be rivals with, too.\nAs for the Golden Urinal, no one appears to be playing for such a prize. But we like to think that would make a great trophy should a Kentucky-Purdue series ever come to fruition.\nIn the game "NCAA Football 2004," Matt LoVecchio has a mustache. Would he be better in real life if he grew a mustache?\nWho wouldn't be better in real life with a mustache? Methinks at the very least a mustache would make him a hit with the ladies. \nHowever, I can't say that there is any precedent for mustache improvement in quarterbacking circles. I cannot recall the last truly great mustachioed QB. In fact, the only mustachioed QB I can think of is Jeff George.\nI also find it strange that of all the players in "NCAA Football," LoVecchio appears to be the only one to have a mustache. Of course, if I were in a video game (how cool is the thought of actually seeing yourself in a video game, by the way?) I would kind of like to be mustachioed too. But only if it was a handlebar.\nP.S. I am making my editors send this to Guinness to verify that I set the world record for use of the word "mustachioed" in a single article.\nNot to move too far off subject, but Kansas is 4-1. Aren't they usually worse than us? What's going on here?\nLike IU, Kansas is in its second year under a new coach. Last year they lost conference games by an average of 32 points. Now, they have three more wins than IU. But I wouldn't say that the Jayhawks are necessarily better -- they just have more favorable conditions. Like the fact that they have played four home games. Or that they have a full pool of players, as opposed to IU, which only has 62 scholarship players out of 85 possible spots.\nIn the future, IU is going to have to make its non-conference schedule a lot easier so they can get the confidence to pull off something special when conference play begins -- kind of like Kansas did last week when they beat then No. 23 Missouri.\nMichigan State is ranked and playing at home. Can IU beat them?\nOn the surface, things don't look too good. But before you say "What else is new?" I'll do some explaining. Working against the Hoosiers is the fact that wide receivers Courtney Roby and Travis Haney are likely out due to injuries. IU hasn't won a road game yet in the Gerry DiNardo-era.\nBut we might have a case where the positives outweigh the negatives. The last time IU beat a ranked opponent on the road -- for that matter, any opponent on the road -- was against these very Spartans in 2001. So at least they've won in East Lansing more recently than the basketball team.\nWith Michigan State puffing out their chests a bit after beating Iowa last week, and considering that they were picked off at home by Louisiana Tech earlier this year, it could be a week for an upset.
(09/29/03 6:37am)
In all reality, I should be running through the Arboretum naked right now. \nThat's the promise that I made, should IU have beaten the Wolverines at the Big House on Saturday. And if you looked at the faces of any Michigan fan leaving the game, you would have sworn they had just seen the demise of their team.\nThat wasn't the case, as they had just witnessed a 31-17 Michigan victory. But they all seemed to have the same sinking feeling of, "Any other team would have beaten us."\nSo are the Hoosiers to look at this game as a bitter loss, or as a moral victory? It's both. Like cough medicine, it doesn't taste very good going down, but the results could make IU better in the long run. \nThe Good \nThe point spread coming into this game was Michigan by 35.5. Not only did they not come close to covering, but they didn't even score that many points. And while they did score 31, it belies the effort of the IU defense. They managed to hold the potent Wolverine offense to two touchdowns and a field goal. They also forced four turnovers in the first half. This brings us to …\nThe Bad\nIn spite of these turnovers, the Hoosiers were trailing 24-0 at halftime. Offense and special teams helped put them in this hole. A special teams breakdown allowed Michigan's first touchdown, as "The Crocodile Punter" Tyson Beattie, kicked his worst punt of an otherwise solid year -- a low line drive that was easily returned for a score by sophomore Steve Breaston.\n"It was like 2.1 seconds hang time," coach Gerry DiNardo said. "It's hard to cover a guy like that on a low punt."\nThen there's the fact that the offense was unable to put the ball in the end zone when they needed to. For the third time in the past two games, IU had a possession that started on the opponents' side of the field that did not result in a touchdown.\nMichigan also scored a defensive touchdown when Jeremy LeSueur intercepted a Matt LoVecchio pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown.\nLoVecchio showed some leadership and was perfectly frank about the offensive performance.\n"The defense played well enough to win the game, the offense didn't," LoVecchio said. "We lost the ball game."\nThe Promising \nYou probably thought I would call this "The Ugly." Wrong. I can't use clichés all the time. But the truth is, the Hoosiers showed us some reason to be optimistic in the future. The offense looked good on the first possession of the second half, with a methodic 19-play, 72-yard drive that ate nearly nine minutes off the clock. Unfortunately, it fizzled out at the 4-yard line, and they settled for a field goal. But at least we saw that they could be capable of controlling the tempo, as they did in the second half.\nAnd the MVP of the game was IU's defense. While people who just read the scores will assume that IU was lit up defensively two weeks in a row, the amount of points that they have given up are deceiving. This unit, which only starts two seniors, continues to improve each week. Next year, defensive coordinator Tim Kish's squad will be a tough one to move the ball on.\nThe Big House \nEven though I despised Michigan growing up, I have to admit that Michigan Stadium is one of the most magical venues in which to watch a college football game. Even though more than 110,000 fans crowd into the stands, everything feels close to the field. There are no massive acres of parking lots. You can find plenty of parking in the neighborhood surrounding the stadium. After parking at least a mile away from UConn's home field, parking in a driveway that was no more than a minute walk from the stadium was a treat.\nSo if you ever have the chance, do yourself a favor and catch a game at the Big House.
(09/26/03 5:39am)
You know what's ironic? If Matt LoVecchio were still at Notre Dame, he'd be starting for them this weekend.\nNot that the Irish are any good this year. But they are still better than the Hoosiers. And lest we forget, it has been a mere two weeks since Michigan throttled Notre Dame 38-0. That was before the Wolverines likely saw any hopes of a national championship fade away with a loss to Oregon. So what does this mean for IU?\nBad things. Very, very bad things.\nUntil last week, Michigan looked like the best team in the country -- or at least one of the top three. While this alone would indicate that they would slaughter the Hoosiers, it at least brought up the possibility that they would look past this week's game. Maybe they wouldn't hold practice all week, for instance.\nThat's not the case anymore. Now the Wolverines are the angriest team in the country. They still have a conference title to win. And who better to exact their vengeance upon than the sacrificial lambs from Bloomington?\nAny way you cut it, things just don't look like they will work to the Hoosiers favor. This match-up is about as even as a drag race between a Ferrari and a Chevy Cavalier. You can just look at history to figure that out. Michigan leads the all-time series 46-9. The last time they played, in 2000, Michigan won 58-0. Apparently Michigan coach Lloyd Carr thought it would be cool to let his starters play a bit in the second half, just in case the second-stringers might blow their 45-0 lead.\nIU's last victory over the Wolverines was in 1987. Back then, people our age were entertained by He-Man and Transformers on Saturday mornings, not college football. If you're a freshman now, you were still wetting your bed back then. (This might also be true for some seniors, but I'm not gonna go there).\nThere must be something for the Hoosiers to pin their hopes on though, right? When IU traveled to Washington this year, I suggested that a change in the earth's gravitational pull might help. That wouldn't be enough against Michigan, though. We need something more drastic, like a rule allowing IU to use 30 players on defense.\nThis is not likely to happen either. So I have offered a realistic solution that would allow the Hoosiers to disappoint those cocky Wolverines and their 110,000 fans in attendance at the Big House. Forfeit the game.\nThink about it. It would look pretty good in the books: Michigan 2, IU 0. We wouldn't have to worry about anybody getting hurt. The players wouldn't have to deal with the mental anguish of sitting on the sidelines and seeing their pride bruised. I could stay at home and watch the Cubs game.\nThe repercussions wouldn't be that bad. When St. Bonaventure forfeited the final two games of their basketball season, they just had to pay for the lost revenue for the home teams. Michigan fans would still pay good money to see their team scrimmage, so that would help IU swallow that cost.\nOK, so maybe the Hoosiers have a little more pride in themselves than to just roll over and die before the game is even played. And stranger things have happened in life. I can't think of any concrete examples, but I'm sure there must be something.\nSo if the Hoosiers are to top the Wolverines this weekend, they have this guarantee: I will run through the Arboretum Monday morning -- in the nude.\nI bet you're cheering for Michigan now.
(09/22/03 7:01am)
This is when you're going to hear from the experts -- when you're 1-3." \nThese are the words of coach Gerry DiNardo in the wake of Saturday's 34-17 loss to Kentucky. And while I'm no expert, I'm more than willing to throw in my two cents (and maybe a few extra pieces of change).\nSo I'm just going to cut to the chase and go to the Cam Cameron Moment of the Game: With a little over two minutes remaining in the third quarter and the Hoosiers trailing 20-10, the Wildcats faced a third and goal from the 7-yard line. There was no doubt the game was in the balance. \nKentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen then hit a receiver who was taken down at the 1.\nHo ho ho, what is this? A break for the Hoosiers! Kentucky was flagged for offensive pass interference, a 15-yard infraction. But wait -- DiNardo has elected to decline the penalty. The collective sound of jaws dropping sweeps across Memorial Stadium, save the Kentucky fans, who are likely laughing hysterically.\nNeedless to say, Kentucky scores on fourth down, and the game is over. \nDiNardo's reasoning was that he thought the ball would be spotted at the 3-yard line, and Kentucky would elect to kick a field goal. But with the game on the line, the first words out of DiNardo's mouth should have been "Where is the spot?" \nAt least he was honest enough to admit his blunder, saying "If I had to do it over again, I obviously wouldn't have put the ball on the 1-yard line." But in life there is no rewind button, and alas, there will be no opportunity to do it again. It'll just go down as another chapter in the world's second-longest book, "A History of IU Football Ineptitude," the longest being "The Chicago Cubs Guide to Stranding Runners on Third Base."\nThe difference came when the Hoosiers scored with four minutes left in the game. They trailed by two scores rather than one, which forced them to attempt an onside kick. The defense was playing well enough that they could have stopped the Wildcats and given the offense a chance to win the game if they had gotten the opportunity.\nAlmost Big Play: IU could have grabbed the momentum early in the game. With Kentucky on its own 3-yard line and facing third down, Lorenzen threw a pass that hit Hoosier safety Herana-Daze Jones right in the hands. An interception would have resulted in an easy stroll into the end zone. Of course, the play of Jones and the defense set up the offense for several good opportunities to score in the first quarter (they got the ball twice in Kentucky territory), but they were unable to capitalize.\nJinxed: I'm not sure whether junior wide receiver Courtney Roby has crossed the path of a black cat, walked under a ladder, broken a mirror, or all of the above. For the second straight week, he scored an impressive touchdown, only to see it called back on a penalty. This week, it was on a 58-yard reverse. Roby made a nifty move (yes, nifty) to get past the defender that met him in the backfield, and it was off to the races from there -- until a holding call brought it back. \nTo add injury to insult, Roby was knocked out of the game returning the kickoff after Kentucky's fourth-and-goal touchdown in the third quarter.\nFeel Good Moment: For the first time since last season, senior strong safety Joe Gonzalez saw action in a game. Losing to Kentucky made it a tough pill for the Hoosiers' elder statesman to swallow, though.\n"It felt good in the first half, and then we started not playing as well as we could have in the second half," Gonzalez said. "However many downs I play doesn't matter. If we're winning games, that's all I care about."\nIU MVP: Punter Tyson Beattie put together another solid performance, putting three punts inside the Kentucky 3-yard line. Winning the field position battle should keep the Hoosiers close in a lot of games this year, and combined with a lucky break or two, could allow IU to pull off an upset.
(09/19/03 6:18am)
It's time for the Kentucky game, and as always, my good friend and somewhat trusted associate Stanley Q. Studmuffin is quite excited. In fact, if you asked him yourself, he might even say that he's "geeked."\n"Did you hear that the smartest man in Kentucky moved to Indiana?" he asked.\n"No," I replied.\n"Yeah. It lowered the IQ of both states."\nYes, it takes a rivalry game for a fan to take the time to think of such cleverness. And as far as rivalries go, this is one of the most tightly contested -- IU leads the overall series 17-15-1, and five of the past eight games have been decided by a touchdown or less.\nBoth teams have similar histories -- they've only won their respective conference titles two times each. Kentucky's been to 10 bowl games. IU has been to eight. \nKentucky's one advantage is a national championship won under Bear Bryant in 1950. Their disadvantage is the fact that they have spent a good deal of time in recent vintage on probation (though this seems to be a prerequisite for playing football in the SEC, unless your name is Vanderbilt).\nThe most obvious similarity, of course, is that both schools are "basketball schools."\nYet there is one strange difference between UK football fans and IU football fans -- Kentucky's fans tend to show up to games, while IU's fans don't. \nFor instance, 70,136 fans sat through a thunderstorm to watch last year's game at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington. The previous year, an Expos-esque crowd of 26,449 showed up to Memorial Stadium for the final game in the glorious career of Antwaan Randle El. (Stanley insists that another 20 would have showed up had they known that it was also going to be the final appearance of Cam Cameron at Memorial Stadium). \nThere's even a story on the Kentucky football Web site about a kid who was selling lemonade and cookies to raise money for season tickets. If that happened here, social services would probably stop by the parents' house to see if they had any idea what their son was up to. \nWhy this disparity in fan bases?\nRecent history probably has a lot to do with it. It has been 10 years since an IU bowl appearance, and Kentucky has won seven of the past eight games in the series. At such a success rate, cheaper ticket prices (sure, they are the cheapest in the Big Ten, but MAC rates would be more appropriate) might attract more fans. Quite frankly, so would beer. Don't hold your breath for either of those developments.\nFans who choose not to go to this game might be missing a lot, though. For instance, they'll be missing a lot of quarterback, as in Wildcats 260-pound signal-caller Jared Lorenzen.\nLorenzen isn't easy to take down, of course -- he's bigger than half of the IU defensive line. And while you would expect a guy his size to have the mobility of say, Bernie Kosar, (who in his heyday moved with the speed of a unicyclist pedaling uphill) Lorenzen can make guys miss in addition to making them bounce off of his frame. Much like the Ghostbusters fighting the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, it's going to take a team effort to bring him down.\nWill they be able to?\nGuess you'll just have to come see for yourself.
(09/19/03 6:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- With the flags over the Statehouse flying at half-staff Thursday, hundreds of mourners filed into the building to pay their last respects to Gov. Frank O'Bannon.\nThey entered the building under the watchful eyes of various members of the Indiana National Guard, Indiana State Police and Indiana fire departments who rigidly stood at attention. The police and firefighters wore black bands over their badges to honor their fallen chief.\nO'Bannon, 73, died Saturday due to complications from a stroke he suffered five days earlier while attending a conference in Chicago.\nAfter walking in, visitors were greeted by photographs that chronicled O'Bannon's life, from black and white photos of his youth to color shots of his two terms as Indiana governor.\nSitting under a giant American flag in the rotunda was an oil painting of O'Bannon, which mourners paused in front of as violinists played a somber tune a few yards away.\n"It's a historic event," said Bruce Thomson of Indianapolis, an employee with the state Department of Natural Resources. "Great leaders of our country don't often die in office."\nLike so many Indiana residents, Thomson didn't know the governor personally, but still had warm memories of the man. Thomson's memories included watching the governor eat lunch on occasion in the state employee's cafeteria.\nOthers who shared memories of the governor did so by leaving a message in one of 40 hard-bound books that were laid out on tables across from the governor's office. The books will be given to the O'Bannon family.\nThose who left their memories and condolences in the books ranged from friends and colleagues to total strangers. Many seemed to take his loss like that of a friend, even if their relationship went no further than shaking the governor's hand or getting a picture taken with him. Children wrote to say how sorry they were for O'Bannon's wife, Judy. \nFor Jeff Coyne, it is easy to see why so many people could identify with their governor.\n"He wasn't pretentious, he never put on airs," Coyne said. "He was just a guy from Corydon, Indiana who lived as a humble Hoosier."\nCoyne would know -- he worked on both of O'Bannon's campaigns for governor, and served as his driver in 1996 when O'Bannon was Lt. Governor.\n"If you spend a year in a car, you get to know someone very well," Coyne said. "I've been honored and blessed to spend time with him one-on-one. Those are memories I'll always cherish."\nFrom her vantage point at a desk in the lobby, Statehouse tour guide Janifer Ruhl of Carmel saw and spoke with many of those who came to celebrate O'Bannon's life.\n"It's been busy all day," Ruhl said. "Everyone has real warm memories."\nThose who still want to honor the governor will have the opportunity to do so today, as there will be a public memorial service on the west steps of the Statehouse at noon.\n-- Contact staff reporter Alex Hickey at ahickey@indiana.edu.
(09/15/03 6:28am)
Much has changed since the last time I was in Memorial Stadium. And all of it has changed for the better.\nHere's a recap of the last time: Penn State's Larry Johnson ran for over 300 yards in a blowout victory. Penn State's players added insult to injury by noting that the field was in such poor condition that it was like playing on a beach. The press box was so cold that I had to wear a hat and gloves. And the bathroom stalls were made out of plywood.\nThis time, the Hoosiers were on the right side of a blowout for the first time since 2000. In spite of my reservations about artificial turf, the field looks better than it ever has. The press box bathrooms now have metal stalls. Even the locker room is vastly improved; with wooden lockers replacing the dumpy old metal ones thanks to a donation from Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and former IU player Trent Green.
(09/12/03 6:50am)
There's nothing quite like kicking off a new football season. Technically, IU has already done that. But they played two games on opposite sides of a very large country, which is no easy way to start a season, even for a good team.\nSo playing at home gives the Hoosiers an opportunity to start the rest of their season on a somewhat fresh note -- kind of like starting your day by throwing on some deodorant and a hat in lieu of taking a shower.\nFor the first time since the Central Michigan game last year, we get to see the Hoosiers enter a game as favorites. History is on their side -- the last time IU played their "rivals" from Terre Haute, they won 31-0. Of course, that was in 1925, and a lot has happened since the Coolidge administration left office.\nIt seems strange to me that a regular series has never been pursued between these two schools, though. Opponents that IU has played more recently include Harvard (1927), Butler (1942) and Marquette (1960).\nIn fact, I think that this should be made a trophy game. They could use an extra one to fill in the void left by the fact that the Bourbon Barrel is no longer awarded to the winner of the IU-Kentucky game. The Bourbon Barrel may have been the single greatest prize in college football history, with the possible exception of Floyd of Rosedale. (Floyd is a bronze pig awarded to the winner of the Iowa-Minnesota game).\nMy suggestion would be for the "Sycamore Stump." Maybe someone could chop down a sycamore halfway between Terre Haute and Bloomington, mount the stump on a board and present it to the winner at the end of the game. Also, they should plant another tree after chopping it down, because otherwise I would probably receive a letter of complaint in regard to my advocating lumberjacking.\nIf you do make it to the game from the tailgate fields and it seems like the playing surface doesn't look right, don't worry; you haven't done too many keg stands. That's the new AstroPlay surface that was installed during the off-season.\nUnfortunately, this puts IU in company with Michigan as one of the trendsetters in the return to artificial turf movement. Under no circumstance whatsoever should football be played on plastic.\nGranted, the stuff that they've put down is a lot better than the thin, cement-like rugs that were so prevalent in stadiums in the 1970s and '80s. Players actually like playing on the new surface. And it's a lot more cost-effective, considering that IU uses the stadium field for some practices. Last year, practices had the effect of turning the field into a beach that was spray painted green.\nBut this is football. And football was meant to be played in the mud. What's more intimidating -- a picture of Dick Butkus prowling around covered in mud and blood, or Dick Butkus covered with rug burns?\nJust imagine if the 2001 Old Oaken Bucket game had been played on an artificial surface. Played in a downpour, it seemed like even the guys who were standing on the sidelines the whole game got muddy. In addition to an IU win, the conditions on the field were what made the game memorable, and may have actually worked to the Hoosiers' benefit in a tight game.\nAfter waxing such stellar opponents as Troy State and McNeese State this week, No. 7 Kansas State takes on the mighty Massachusetts Minutemen. Are you kidding me!? This team shouldn't be allowed in the Top 25, much less the Top 10. If IU played all home games against such cupcake opponents, they'd be undefeated, too. And I don't think anyone would have them in the Top 10. If a team wants to be respected, it should start playing a schedule that reflects it.
(09/08/03 6:14am)
It's cliché to say, "That game was closer than the score indicated." This phrase has garnered far too much usage over the years.\nYet it is the perfect way to describe IU's 38-13 loss to No. 22 Washington. For 49 minutes, the Hoosiers matched everything that the Huskies showed them, not appearing the least bit daunted.\nBut for the final 11 minutes of the third quarter, the Hoosiers appeared to have eaten the mental equivalent of Taco Bell, as a series of brain farts allowed the Huskies to score four touchdowns and put the game well out of reach.\nEven so, this game showed that this team of mostly freshman and sophomore players should someday be capable of not just hanging with the big boys, but beating them altogether.\nThe Momentum Turner: With 11:07 left in the third quarter, IU had a 13-10 lead and the Husky Stadium crowd sounded more like it was attending the world's largest biology lecture than a football game. This was compounded even further when their kickoff returner decided to catch a ball that was clearly headed out of bounds at the 16-yard line, which caused a considerably excitable reaction from Gerry DiNardo.\nHis excitement would be tempered soon thereafter as Washington quarterback Cody Pickett hit Reggie Williams for a 71-yard touchdown pass. But this wasn't the play that broke the Hoosiers -- Pickett and Williams are two of the best players in the Pac-10, and it can be expected for them to break out a big play at least once a game.\nIU managed to march the ball to the Washington 35-yard line when disaster struck. On second down, quarterback Matt LoVecchio threw an ill-advised screen pass to Chris Taylor, nearly 10 yards behind the line. What made this ill-advised was the fact that Taylor had a man in his face, and since the pass was a lateral, the ball was live when it fell to the ground, where Washington's Graham Lasee fell on it. \nStill, this was not the play that turned the momentum, as the IU defense dug in. Washington's drive stalled out at the IU 34-yard line, and Huskies kicker Evan Knudson had to come out to attempt a career long 51-yard attempt. But somehow the Hoosiers did not have the right personnel on the field, and DiNardo had to call a timeout to avoid getting penalized for having too many men on the field.\nDuring the timeout, Washington decided that this field goal was a little too long for their liking, and brought out the punt unit. And that's when the most mind-boggling thing I have seen on a football field happened.\nDespite having just called a timeout to get the right personnel on the field, the Hoosiers were flagged for an illegal substitution. It looked like something right out of a yet-to-be-made Disney movie about the comically bad football team with a bunch of lovable players and the tough-as-nails, stressed out coach who somehow turns around their season.\nFrom that point, everything in the game was just stats to be put in the record book, as IU's momentum and hopes of winning had clearly been snapped.\nIU MVP: There are actually a lot of candidates for this award. One cannot overlook the effort of linebacker Kyle Killion, who recorded 10 tackles and an interception. And safety Will Meyers was more than solid with 13 tackles and a fumble recovery.\nAnd then there's left tackle Isaac Sowells, who led an offensive line that looked like a completely different unit than the one that took the field a week ago. During the first half, the time they provided LoVecchio allowed IU to keep the game close.\nBut the biggest tip of the cap must go to the drivers of IU's equipment truck. Think about it. Last week, they had to drive to Connecticut and back. This week, it was all the way to Seattle and back. I'm not quite sure how many miles, cups of coffee, hours, or pit stops this covers. But it could be the most impressive performance in college football this season.
(09/05/03 6:12pm)
I'm not quite sure what is going to happen with the Hoosier football team on the field this year. So I've enlisted the help of others to make some predictions about the outcome of all of this year's games. Since I didn't want a biased opinion, I talked to two experts in the field of prognostication.\nOne of them was the Great Prognostico. Prognostico runs his own psychic hotline, and has successfully predicted many events in the past year, including the rise in gas prices and the passing of Bob Hope.\nThe other expert is Vinny "The Chin" D'Annuzio, who is a bookmaker living in Barbados. Vinny operates out of the country because gaming authorities in Vegas and Atlantic City were "paying too much attention."\nHere are their predictions:\nWashington\nPrognostico: Can you say Rose Bowl preview? Washington will still be getting over its postseason turmoil when the Hoosiers roll into Husky Stadium. Expecting to roll over IU, they will be stunned by a 53-yard Bryan Robertson field goal as time expires.\nVinny: Remember last season, when Penn State's Larry Johnson ran for over 300 yards against the IU defense and catapulted himself into the thick of the Heisman race? Look for Washington QB Cody Pickett to throw for at least 500 yards and six touchdowns.\nIndiana State\nPrognostico: What a way to kick off the home schedule! I see glorious things as a sellout crowd watches a game that will be over by the end of the first quarter.\nVinny: This is a rivalry game for the Sycamores, so expect them to come out pumped up. That might be good enough to get them a couple of touchdowns. They are likely cover the point spread, especially if it's around 28.\nKentucky\nPrognostico: The Hoosiers will head into Big Ten play with just the one loss to Connecticut after they beat the Wildcats and avenge last season's close loss in Lexington. The IU defense will intercept Kentucky's Jared Lorenzen three times, but nobody will be able to sack him.\nVinny: These games always seem to come down to the wire, no matter what either team's record is. Overtime is a distinct possibility. But in the end, UK will just prove to be a little too much for the Hoosiers to handle.\nMichigan\nPrognostico: A win would give IU its first win over the Wolverines since 1987. But hey, whom am I kidding? I see bad things on the horizon for the Hoosiers in this one, which will be their second loss of the year.\nVinny: Can Michigan's scoreboard hold triple digits?\nMichigan State\nPrognostico: IU won the last time it played in East Lansing. Look for the Hoosiers to repeat that performance as they pick up their first Big Ten victory. This could be the game where we first hear the Heisman buzz for Mr. LoVecchio.\nVinny: The Spartans slaughtered the Hoosiers last year with many of their key players sitting out due to suspension. It'll be closer this year, but MSU won't have to do too much sweating.\nNorthwestern\nPrognostico: I see the Hoosiers scoring in the 50s, or perhaps the 60s as they roll to a Homecoming victory and crack the Top 25.\nVinny: I flipped a coin. It came out heads. That means Northwestern.\nOhio State\nPrognostico: The national champs will come to Bloomington undefeated … but they won't leave it that way! I'm seeing visions of Kordell Stewart and Doug Flutie … perhaps a Hail Mary from LoVecchio to Courtney Roby will knock the champs off their pedestal.\nVinny: Maurice Clarett should be back by this time. Not that it will make a difference. The mostly Ohio State crowd will watch the Buckeyes pull away in the second half after the Hoosiers keep it close in the first.\nMinnesota\nPrognostico: The football gods will punish Minnesota for playing in a dome and give the Hoosiers a win by default.\nVinny: Minnesota QB Asad Abdul-Khaliq is a dark horse Heisman candidate coming into the season, a la Brad Banks a year ago. His name could be getting thrown around more after this game.\nIllinois\nPrognostico: By this time, there will be way too much momentum behind the well-oiled IU machine for the Illini to stop it. IU may climb into the Top 10 after this win, but my tea leaves aren't strong enough to see what the pollsters will be thinking.\nVinny: I'm not even sure if anyone will still be going to games at this point. They won't miss much, as Illinois will win by about 10.\nPenn State\nPrognostico: Defense will lead the way as IU beats Joe Paterno for the first time. Now IU will definitely be in the Top 10. \nVinny: Last year's game was so ugly that Joe Pa actually brought in the second string kicker. And that was at home. I hate to see what will happen in Beaver Stadium.\nPurdue\nPrognostico: ESPN's Game Day crew will be at Memorial Stadium to cover the most anticipated Bucket game in 35 years. The fates will collaborate in IU's favor, as a win will be combined with a Michigan loss to Ohio State, giving the Hoosiers the Big Ten title and a trip to Pasadena.\nVinny: Purdue will retain the Old Oaken Bucket. Hoosier fans will wait until next year. Again.\n-- Contact staff columnist Alex Hickey at ahickey@indiana.edu.
(09/05/03 6:41am)
I was hoping by some scheduling quirk we would find out that the Hoosiers would actually be traveling to play Washington University in St. Louis. Apparently, they still have to go to Seattle. This is a bad thing.\nGranted, Washington didn't look like anything special against Ohio State last week. But let's remember that the Bucks won the national championship. On the other hand, UConn, which dominated IU, is pretty good at women's basketball but doesn't quite have the same track record in football.\nWashington is also pretty good at home. The team has lost five non-conference home games in the past 20 years, and that includes opponents like Miami. Their quarterback, Cody Pickett, passed for 4,461 yards and 28 touchdowns last year.\nBoth of IU's starting safeties, Joe Gonzalez and Herana-Daze Jones, are doubtful for the game. As good as Washington is at home, IU is bad on the road. The team has not won a road game yet in the DiNardo era. (The last road win was Nov. 10, 2001 at Michigan State).\nSo most people are probably wondering, "Is this game even worth watching? What are the Hoosiers odds of coming within 30 points -- at halftime?"\nThere's a good chance that things will get ugly early. But there is a reason that games are played on the field, and not a piece of paper. Technically, anyone can win.\nHere are some things that must happen if the Hoosiers are to pick up the biggest upset since my last date.\n• Get to Pickett early and often: By get to Pickett, I mean get him drunk. Perhaps it could be arranged for the equipment manager to pour approximately half a liter of Everclear into Pickett's Gatorade bottle. This should be good for at least 2-3 interceptions. If this isn't having the desired effect by halftime, they might want to consider slipping in something a little more potent, like a horse tranquilizer. (Editor's note: The IDS does not advocate the slipping of horse tranquilizers into quarterback's drinks).\n• Adverse weather conditions: Unusual weather could benefit the Hoosiers. By unusual, I mean a reversal of the earth's gravitational pull. True, there isn't definitive scientific evidence that would indicate floating around uncontrollably would give IU an edge. But it can't hurt.\nAlso, Seattle is located in a highly volatile tectonic area, making the possibility of a game-saving earthquake very distinct.\n• Grab an early lead: Remember when you were a little kid, and you played your dad in basketball? He'd spot you a 10 point lead to give you a chance to win. Right now, Washington is favored by 24 points. So if they gave IU those 24 points to start off the game (and the ball, of course) there is a pretty good chance that the Hoosiers could pull off the victory.\n• Play loose: This time, I'm being serious. No one outside of the IU locker room is expecting the game to be close, much less for it to be a Hoosier victory. So there is no pressure on IU. The players just need to go out and have fun. \n-- Contact staff writer Alex Hickey at ahickey@indiana.edu.
(09/01/03 5:44am)
I drove 15 hours to see IU play football, and all I got was this lousy performance.\nSure IU's 34-10 loss to UConn wasn't the lowest moment in team history. It might not even rank in the Bottom 10. But it certainly was one of the more excruciating displays of football that I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing.\nI'm not sure what caused IU to play so poorly. Maybe they were intimidated by the UConn-record crowd of 38,109 that showed up to the inaugural game at Rentschler Field. Or perhaps they were impressed by the Huskies stylish uniforms, which were designed by Aeropostale. (Really… I'm not sure if this means Abercrombie and Fitch will be designing Rutgers uniforms next year).\nOr maybe UConn will end up winning the national championship. (Just had to throw that one in).
(08/29/03 6:00am)
The men's and women's cross country teams are both coming off of one the finer years in their respective histories.\nThe women finished 14th at the NCAA Championships, putting together their best finish since 1990. The men also reached the finals, finishing in 25th place.\nOn Saturday, they will look to build on last year's momentum as they host the Indiana Open. The field will include Huntington College, Manchester College, South Florida and Wisconsin-Green Bay. Louisville will participate in the women's race.\nThe women's 5K race starts at 4:45, while the men's 7K race will begin at 5:15.\nMen's coach Robert Chapman said the meet will give the team a chance to see the capabilities of its younger runners.\n"For this home opener, we traditionally only run our younger guys," Chapman said. "We like to let them get their feet wet in a low key situation and learn how to race the longer college distance."\nDue to the inexperience of the runners in the event and the possibility that overwhelming heat will slow the field down, Chapman won't be focusing on times to assess his team's progress.\n"This meet would be similar to an exhibition situation," Chapman said. \nThe team has already learned a bit more about itself over the past week. It spent last weekend at training camp at Chain O' Lakes State Park in Noble County.\n"They have nice cabins and nice trails to train on," Chapman said. "It's a good atmosphere to bond as a group and set the tone for the season."\nWomen's coach Judy Wilson is expecting her top three runners, junior Mindy Peterson, senior Audrey Giesler, and sophomore Lindsay Hattendorf to be out in front of the field. But she will be paying closer attention to how the other runners handle themselves.\n"We want them to hit certain parts of the race at certain times," Wilson said.\nLike any coach, Wilson wants to see her team put in their best effort. But she also realizes that running too hard in the heat opens up the possibility for injury.\n"If it's like it's been the past couple days, I would certainly want them to go a little easier," Wilson said. "It's very hot, and that can make things difficult on a tough course like ours."\nThe runners involved know it will be important to drink plenty of liquids before the race gets under way.\n"We try to get really hydrated before a meet like this," Giesler said. "And we'll run more conservatively than we would later in the year."\nThe women will already be missing one key member of the team for the meet, sophomore Jessica Gall. Gall has done workouts this week, but is still recovering from a quadriceps injury.\n"She will be there when it counts," Wilson said.
(08/29/03 5:58am)
There's a good chance that someone on the football team has wondered, "Who's the pencil-necked geek from the IDS that will be making fun of us this year?"\nThat would be me. But I'm not going to be making fun of the team -- yet. To put down a team before it has a chance to prove itself is a mean and unnecessary thing to do, like stealing candy from a small child.\nOf course, my first tangible memories of IU football are pretty comical. They involve Jerome Bettis dragging three Hoosier defenders (or maybe it was four) on his back for 10 yards as he ran into the end zone in a 1991 game at Notre Dame.\nHowever, I would go as far as to say that the future of football at IU is bright, and it is because of two people who are linked to the Fighting Irish. \nThe first is junior quarterback Matt LoVecchio. We have a real, honest-to-goodness Notre Dame quarterback playing for IU. And he was a starter, one that led the Irish to the Fiesta Bowl as a freshman. No one else has done that.\nThink about it. Most guys who have played at IU would have been third stringers at Notre Dame. That's right, if Rudy went to IU, they wouldn't have made a movie about him. He would have just been some other anonymous Hoosier defensive back that the 50 students in the stands would be making fun of every time he got burned.\nSpeaking of Rudy, one of his teammates is one of the other reasons that IU fans should be optimistic. That would be coach Gerry DiNardo or, as I would like to call him, "Uncle Gerry." Why Uncle Gerry? Because nobody has good nicknames these days, and there is nothing better than a truly good nickname. \nFor instance, you probably couldn't name Notre Dame's legendary Four Horsemen individually. But you know who they are because they are the "Four Horsemen." These days, nicknames are always half-assed, like J. Lo or A-Rod. (Bet that's the only time you'll see anything about J. Lo described as half-assed. But I digress.)\nBut DiNardo brings a lot more to the table than me trying to stick a nickname on him. His biggest plus is his ability to recruit. He has been around the state like a whirling dervish (whatever that is), visiting all 311 high schools in Indiana since his hiring. In addition, he has connections in his native Brooklyn and in Louisiana from his days coaching at LSU.\nThus, the day where big name recruits choose to come to IU could be sooner than anyone thinks.\nBut improvement in the future will only go as far as the Hoosiers bring it in the present. That process begins this Saturday as IU travels to Connecticut to take on the Huskies in their brand-spanking new stadium. While many might question whether a football game between two basketball schools will be any good, I think it should be an interesting match-up.\nThough the Huskies have only been in Division I-A since 2000, they will be joining the Big East next season when Miami and Virginia Tech jump to the ACC. Last year, they won their last four games of the year to finish 6-6. \nIn addition, everyone in the Constitution State seems be buzzing about this weekend. UConn's coach, Randy Edsall, described the stadium opening as a "great event for the state of Connecticut."\nDiNardo even said the UConn program was on equal footing with IU. \nSo don't be surprised if Saturday's game comes down to a three-pointer at the buzzer.
(03/25/03 7:02pm)
My long-time associate Stanley Q. Studmuffin arrived in Bloomington from his trip to someplace warm a more bronzed man. But he was also a little confused about what had happened over the course of the past week, which left me answering a lot of questions. Like these:\n"Dude, you are like the palest guy on campus. What did you do all week?"\nWatched basketball.\n"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I was sooo wasted. IU lost to Pittsburgh, right? How'd that happen?"\nBasically because Pitt is the best No. 2 seed in the tournament -- more like a 1a seed. It has an unrelenting defense. An open shot for any IU player was a victory in itself. Pitt's guards were always pressuring the ball and never seemed to get tired. And the Panthers frontcourt of Ontario Lett, Donatas Zavackas and the Suburban-sized Chevy Troutman, was simply too bulky for Jeff Newton and George Leach to overcome. Pittsburgh would be in the Final Four if it had been put in any regional other than the one Kentucky is in.\n"I saw that Mike Davis ripped into the team for being selfish in his post-game press conference. He also said that they are letting compliments get to their heads. He's right, right?"\nI've criticized the performance of players on this team at various junctures throughout the season. This is not one of those times. \nThey've had their ups-and-downs, but this is still a team that finished with 21 wins. There are about 250 teams in the country that would be happy to eat liver and onions every night for a chance to be as successful as IU.\nThe players on this team have made mistakes at times, but they are still playing for the name on the front of the jersey (of course, it is rather difficult for them to play for the names on the back of their jerseys, seeing as there are no names back there). \nIf the players on this team only thought about themselves, they would have tanked it when Michigan led them by nine in the Big Ten tournament. Or they would have lost to Illinois by 25 rather than giving the Illini their only challenge in the Big Ten tourney. Or they would have looked an 11-point halftime deficit against Alabama in the face and said, "Screw it. As long as I get on 'Sportscenter,' and maybe a second or two in 'One Shining Moment,' I'm money."\nIf Davis wants to find a selfish team, he should look no further than UCLA. The Bruins, a team with enough raw talent to spin the heads of the Harlem Globetrotters, sleepwalked into their worst record since World War II. The team simply gave up.\nThe Hoosiers didn't do that. I don't suspect that anyone who wears the candy cane warm-ups ever will. \nTom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby cried real tears over their last game. I don't suspect anyone on UCLA did the same thing. \nInterestingly enough, Pitt coach Ben Howland is rumored to be the top candidate for the UCLA job.\n"Coach Davis sure was complimentary of Pitt's players. Do you think he was sending a subconscious message? If Mr. Howland goes to Hollywood, do you think that Mr. Davis would rather be in the Steel City next year?"\nWell, only because he wouldn't have to schedule Kentucky every year. While rumor mongers will speculate in the coming months over the future of IU basketball, I can assure you that Davis will be back. And the Hoosiers will be back in fine shape.\nThere is an important lesson to be learned from the press conference, though. It happened when Davis said, "These guys just don't listen to me."\nFor the sake of this team's chemistry and confidence in the future, I hope this was one of those times.
(03/13/03 5:05am)
Thank goodness for cheaters. What would IU do without them? Well for one, they'd have a harder time getting into the Big Dance.\nFirst you've got Michigan. The Wolverines are paying for the sins of the Fab Five by getting banned from this year's tournament.\nEven with all the help Michigan was willing to provide, it would still be nice to get some extra insurance. That's where Georgia coach Jim Harrick was able to oblige. The school has suspended Harrick, who has been accused of academic improprieties, and the 19-8 Bulldogs have been banned from the NCAA Tournament. Thus, a spot has opened for another team to enter the tourney. While there's no sure way of telling that IU will be the direct beneficiary of these scandals, they can't hurt. Nor will winning some games during the Big Ten tournament. \nOne benefit of the Big Ten tournament is that it gives me a chance to get some practice in filling out my brackets for the Big Dance. Here's how I think the tourney will end up. (Remember, anyone could win the Big Ten this year, so don't make fun of me if I end up picking every game incorrectly).\nFirst round: IU over Penn State, Minnesota over Northwestern, Iowa over Ohio State.\nWhy: There are a number of factors that give IU a huge advantage. By now, it realizes it has to win this game. It should also play like a home game, considering the large number of alumni in the Chicago area. Also, it would just be embarrassing to miss the NCAAs in a year that IUPUI makes it.\nMinnesota will win because it is in the same boat as IU -- only its boat is a lot closer to sinking. Northwestern is 20 minutes from home and might keep it close, but the Gophers should still pull it out.\nWhy Iowa? It always seem to pull off some sort of tournament miracle. It made it to the finals as a No. 9 seed last year and won as a No. 6 in 2001. Steve Alford's karma isn't ready to slow down yet.\nSecond round: IU over Michigan, Michigan State over Purdue, Illinois over Minnesota, Wisconsin over Iowa.\nWhy: One of IU's best Big Ten wins was against Michigan. And if the Big Ten was run like most other conferences, the postseason ineligible Wolverines' season would already be over. It should come to a close after this match-up.\nThe Michigan State-Purdue game could be one of the best of the tournament. Each team won at home when they met in the regular season. But the Spartans enter the tournament on a four-game winning streak, so I give them the edge.\nIllinois' last game was a home win against Minnesota. The Illini play several home games at the United Center each year. And they aren't too happy about losing the regular season title to Wisconsin.\nLogic dictates that the Badgers will end Iowa's tournament dreams this year. Wisconsin's defense is ranked fourth in the nation, and it is playing as well as it did in 2000 when it made the Final Four.\nSemifinals: Illinois over IU, Wisconsin over Michigan State.\nWhy: Remember the last time the Hoosiers played Illinois? Things got ugly. And they could again. Illinois has the top-ranked offense in the Big Ten. IU has the ninth-ranked defense. I don't like that equation. At least by this time the Hoosiers will have clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament.\nIf the Badgers and Spartans meet, don't expect much scoring. But it should still be a contest that goes down to the wire. Both teams have been on hot streaks lately. And even though I think Wisconsin has the best potential to go deep in the NCAA tournament, I still haven't picked an upset, so I'll go with Michigan State.\nFinals: Illinois over Michigan State.\nWhy: Over the course of the season, Illinois has proved itself as the deepest team in the conference. And it should at least get a piece of the Big Ten championship.
(03/11/03 5:13am)
Welcome to the bubble\nWe've got to win some games\nCuz if we lose it's the NIT\nAnd that's just really lame\nIf Guns N' Roses were to write a song about IU's NCAA tournament chances, it would probably go something like that. But until that happens, I will have to settle with talking about their chances in a more boring, newspaper-oriented manner. \nOf course, half of this column could be dedicated to berating the Hoosiers after a dismal performance at Penn State. But I don't need to tell them that they completely stunk on Saturday. They already know. A trip as long as the one from State College to Bloomington provides enough time to figure that out.\nAfter all, there are more embarrassing things than losing a game to Penn State. Like getting de-pantsed at center court. Or airballing a layup.\nGranted, the loss would have been easier to swallow had it been at the hands of an opponent that was playing in front of a wild, enthusiastic crowd. Well, I suppose the 300 or so fans that did show up were enthusiastic. But that didn't change the fact that you could actually hear conversations that were happening on the floor.\nFor instance, I could swear that I heard this discussion between Penn State coach Jerry Dunn and center Jan Jagla.\nJagla: Coach, if we win, do we get pizza?\nDunn: Yeah. And if we lose, we definitely get pizza.\nOr maybe that was a commercial. Like most IU fans, I chose to let memories of the game become somewhat blurred. Unfortunately, the team does not have the same choice, as Thursday brings a rematch with the Nittany Lions for the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.\nWhat will the Hoosiers have to do differently to win the rubber game of the series? As tempting as it is to say "everything," which is a little too vague, so I'll try to narrow it down a bit.\nOne place to start is better shot selection. The only way that IU was able to keep the game even relatively close on Saturday was by getting to the free throw line. From the field, they shot a lowly 39.6 percent. Even more damaging was their three-point shooting. IU made only four out of the 20 shots they attempted from beyond the arc.\nPenn State has a definitive edge in height -- more than half of the players on the Lions roster are over 6 feet 7 inches. Therefore IU's big men are the keys to game. Granted, Jeff Newton was in foul trouble early and was only in the game for 23 minutes. \nBut what the Hoosiers needed was a bigger dose of George Leach, who played only 15 minutes despite only picking up one foul. In the rematch, it will be critical for each to get 30 minutes of playing time a piece.\nAnd now the good news:\nSomething good actually did happen to the Hoosiers this weekend, and it promises to make their future a bright one. Patrick Ewing Jr. has announced that he is committing to play at IU next year. (Perhaps you remember his dad). Ewing Jr., who is 6-8 and 220 pounds, averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks per game this year. Furthermore, he picked IU over Texas, Virginia, Louisville, and his dad's alma mater, Georgetown.\nSo if the Penn State game doesn't work out, at least we can wait 'til next year.
(03/07/03 7:09pm)
It's the moment you've all been waiting for: The day where I have nothing but good things to say about an IU performance (well, mostly good things). \nAs expected, it was a game that caused most fans to gnaw their fingernails. But none of the three seniors on the roster felt the pressure, each ending his career at Assembly Hall in proper fashion: with a victory.\nFirst there was Kyle Hornsby. While he may not be in the starting lineup, he proved he could still make big plays. One example was the three-pointer that he hit from the corner to give the Hoosiers a six-point lead with a little more than three minutes left to play.\nBut the final play that he made at Assembly Hall was the most clutch of the game. With IU leading 71-68, Hornsby was able to force a jump ball that gave the Hoosiers possession and virtually assured the win.\nAnd then there was the man whom Mike Davis called "the ultimate Indiana basketball player," Tom Coverdale. It's a statement that's so fundamentally true that you would almost expect Coverdale to show up for a game wearing a pair of red Chuck Taylors on his feet.\nHe came to play Tuesday night. Coverdale was the only player on either team to stay in the game for the full 40 minutes. While he had only nine points, Coverdale's eight assists put him in a three-way tie with Jamal Meeks and Damon Bailey for third place on IU's career assist list. He also played smart basketball and did not commit a single turnover.\nBut the MVP of the game was their classmate Jeff Newton. With his 22-point, 16-rebound performance (including a perfect eight-for-eight night from the free throw line), Newt solidified the fact that he deserves to be first team all-Big Ten. It was his 11th double-double of the season.\nJust as he had done the first time the Hoosiers played Illinois, he attacked the opponent inside the paint and made sure the other team's best player got into foul trouble. Had Minnesota forward Rick Rickert been in the game for more than 24 minutes, there might have been a very different outcome.\nLost in the hubbub of Senior Night was the smooth shooting of a freshman, Bracey Wright. Wright hit six-of-eight shots from three-point range and added three free throws to end the game with 21 points. Somehow he missed all of the field goals he attempted inside of the arc. But he did pull down six rebounds.\nSo with all of the good vibes floating around Assembly Hall Tuesday night, IU will head to Penn State in a positive mood. And while it is important for the Hoosiers to be confident, they cannot afford to become complacent.\nThe Nittany Lions (6-19, 1-13 Big Ten) are hardly a stellar team -- they've been blown out by Yale. For Saturday's game, Penn State may draw fewer fans than the Cleveland Cavaliers, Montreal Expos or a high school curling tournament in North Dakota.\nBut this fact still remains: Penn State's one Big Ten victory was against Wisconsin, and the Badgers figure to be a fairly high-seeded team when the NCAA Tournament committee draws up the brackets a week and a half from now.\nWhen Penn State visited Assembly Hall in January, it kept the game close for the first half. On the road, IU can't afford to keep the Lions hanging around. And if IU plays with the intensity of a team whose season is on the line, there should be little to worry about. After all, my fingernails have gotten too short to chew on anymore.
(03/04/03 6:28am)
I am pretty certain that Mike Davis must be using "Just for Men" these days. There is no other way to explain how he has managed to keep his hair from turning gray over the course of this season -- or just over the course of Saturday's 91-88 victory over Iowa.\nFortunately the NCAA Tournament selection committee does not look at the number of gray hairs on a coach's head. Nor does it award style points for the manner in which a win was achieved. So even though IU nearly squandered a 15-point lead and their tournament hopes in the same evening, in the end a win was still a win in the committee's eyes.\nNot only that, but it was probably the most exciting game that IU has played since their victory over Maryland. Finally we were able to witness two Big Ten teams that conspired to score more than 65 points in a game.\nOf course it displayed some glaring weaknesses in IU's game. The most obvious was that when Jeff Newton and George Leach are on the bench, IU plays what my eighth grade basketball coach would describe as the "Swiss Cheese defense." It was full of holes.\nWith 6-feet-9-inches Mike Roberts as the tallest man on the floor for IU, 6-11 Iowa center Jared Reiner was able to absolutely dominate the game on the inside, scoring 25 points and pulling down 17 rebounds in a Herculean effort.\nFortunately for IU, Newton was able to dominate when he was on the floor. And that's what he'll have to do again tonight for his final game at Assembly Hall.\nIt just so happens that the Big Ten schedule makers saved what could be the most entertaining game of the season for last. The Hoosiers will meet a Minnesota team in the same position as IU -- desperately needing a win to keep their tournament hopes alive.\nThe Golden Gophers could have taken care of business on Sunday with a home win over Wisconsin. Instead they trailed the entire game and lost 69-61, dropping their conference record to 8-6. Now they are dealt with the difficult task of coming on the road and beating either IU or Illinois. My guess is that they figure this is their best chance of winning.\nOne reason that Minnesota can be confident is that they have something that the Hoosiers don't have a whole lot of -- height. The Gophers boast of three players over 6-10 in Rick Rickert, Jerry Holman and Jeff Hagen.\nSo if Newton and Leach get into foul trouble early, things could take an ugly turn for the Hoosiers.\nFortunately Minnesota is one of the only teams on the tournament bubble that has been as bad as IU on the road this season. The only teams they have beaten away from Williams Arena are Penn State and Northwestern. They lost to Nebraska (11-16) by 20 when they went to Lincoln.\nNewton and Tom Coverdale have been through a lot in their four years as Hoosiers. But if they want tonight to be their final home game (i.e. avoid hosting a NIT game), they will have to play smart and tough basketball against an equally hungry Minnesota squad. \nIn the end, it will be the team that shows the most heart that will come out on top in this battle.