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(07/06/07 1:01am)
There were numerous blue and orange “#8” Chicago Bears jerseys on display among the crowd at Bloomington High School South on Thursday morning. \nThe crowd of fans were anxiously awaiting a familiar face. \nThen, from the parking lot came former Indiana Mr. Football Rex Grossman wearing a purple polo. He returned to hs former school, Bloomington High School South on Thursday to take part in the Day of Champions celebration, benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington. Grossman, now the quarterback for the Bears, called signals for the Panthers from 1995 to 1998.\nThursday’s event included a youth football camp in the morning, followed by the retirement ceremony of Grossman’s No. 8 high-school jersey. The day concluded with a charity golf outing.\nMore than 130 kids participated in the youth camp in which Grossman visited all the stations to meet with the children. A few kids even got to catch some passes from Grossman.\n“This is something fun. Kids need heroes and Rex is a football hero and inspiration,” said Drew Wood, the current head coach at Bloomington South.\nAfter the camp concluded outside, everyone headed inside for the jersey retirement ceremony.\nGrossman’s coach at Bloomington South, Mo Moriarity – who is currently the head coach at Carmel High School – was noticeably emotional and called this a very special day. Grossman, he said, was very deserving of becoming the first player in the long history of athletes to come through Bloomington South to have his jersey retired. During the ceremony, Moriarity challenged the kids in the auditorium, telling them anything is possible. He said that Grossman once participated in the Boys and Girls Club, and now he’s in the NFL.\n“You have to dream,” Moriarity said.\nHe also went on to share how Grossman has not let the NFL and his successes change him.\n“What I’m most proud of is that he is a tough guy inside and knows how to handle himself,” Moriarity said.\nWhen the time came for Grossman to come onto the stage and accept the honor of having his jersey retired, the first word out of his mouth was “unbelievable.”\n“This is just an unbelievable honor for me being the first player ever to have their jersey retired (at South),” Grossman said.\nAs Grossman addressed the kids during the ceremony, he told about his experiences at the Boys and Girls Club.\n“This is where my first competitive playing all began, ” he said\nGrossman recalled a story that his high school career didn’t start out on a bright note, despite that in his senior season at South, Grossman led his team to a win in the 5A state championship. He also passed for 3,080 yards and 44 touchdowns.\n“When I first started my career at South, I remember coach Mo called to tell me I was going to be the starting quarterback as a freshman,” he said. “I came home and puked, although it was a dream come true.”
(06/27/07 11:19pm)
Let’s go back to October 26, 2005, when life was good. I was a couple of months into my freshman year, I lived on a co-ed floor, my 19th birthday had been the day before and most importantly, the ground-out to White Sox shortstop Juan Uribe wrapped up a sweep in the 2005 World Series for the Chicago White Sox over the Houston Astros. That was their first championship since 1917, a drought of 88 years. \nNow let me bring you to the current state of my White Sox. To be polite – they are unwatchable. I am just glad that I can only see Sox games at best once a week on WGN, so I don’t have to go through the emotional drain after every loss. This team’s roster may resemble the 2005 White Sox in composition, but by no means do they play like the 2005 team. The fundamentals that led to the team’s success in 2005 have been everything far from that year, as they currently sit in fourth in the AL Central. The only bright spot for this year’s team has been Mark Buehrle’s no-hitter against the Texas Rangers. \nAfter last weekend’s interleague sweep at home (where I thought the commercial said you must protect your house) from their hated cross-town rival Cubs, the White Sox had dropped 22 of their last 27 games. That stretch has prompted GM Kenny Williams to start shopping his players, citing that they are out of contention for the playoffs.\nHere are just a few ideas I have to fix this situation: \nIn my opinion, the main difference between this season’s team and the 2005 team has been injuries. Besides numerous injuries to everyday players such as Jermaine Dye, Darin Erstad, Jim Thome and Joe Crede, leadoff man Scott Podsednik, to date, has played in fourteen of his team’s 73 games. In 2005, his .290 batting average and 59 stolen bases paved the way for the Sox.\nJust hit the ball, baby. Out of 30 teams, the Sox rank 30th in runs scored, batting average and hits. Enough said.\nDon’t trade away Buehrle. Instead, how about try resigning him? Although he will be the most sought-after pitcher before the trade deadline and you could probably get good prospects for him, he’s 28 years old. More importantly, he’s a left-handed pitcher and good left-handed pitching is hard to find.\nRetool your outfield. In other words, get rid of the aging Dye and Erstad. Dye, who is in his contract year, is hitting .230. If you’re not hitting in your contract year, it’s time to go.\nDon’t even think about firing Ozzie Guillen. Remember this is the manager who gave you your first championship in 88 years. That alone should keep him out of the dog house longer than a year and a half.\nCurrently, I have stopped watching White Sox games, and instead I’ve been watching the DVD from the ’05 championship. Oh, the memories. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping I won’t have to wait another 88 years for the White Sox to win another championship because I’m sure I won’t live until I’m 109.
(06/20/07 11:56pm)
Summer is usually reserved for relaxing, hanging out at the pool and vacationing, but here at IU, more than 2,000 kids ages 9-18 and about 120 high school basketball teams will be participating in IU basketball coach Kelvin Sampson’s summer basketball camps at Indiana University.\nThe camps run from the second week of June until the first of August. The camps range from the popular Father-Child Camp to Elite Camp, where the Hoosier coaching staff gets to look at potential future recruits. This summer is Sampson’s second season running basketball camps at IU. Although he was hired three months before his first camp started last year, Sampson said he was not worried about getting campers and staff to come last summer. “I actually had kids and coaches that were going to my camp while I was at Oklahoma make the trip to Indiana to attend camp here which is a great compliment,” he said.\nSampson said the camp he enjoys running the most is the three day Father-Child Camp. This year is the first that the Father-Child Camp was will be offered at IU. Sampson brought the camp with him from Oklahoma. \n“It’s a great time to spend quality father-and-child time,” he said.\nSampson said that in his two years running basketball camps at IU, he hasn’t experienced much difference between IU and Oklahoma. Even though IU is known for its rich basketball tradition, he said his camps at Oklahoma were just as big or bigger as the ones he has run at Indiana, which he thinks is partly because of facility size. \n “At Oklahoma all the courts to play on were in one spot. It’s a little different here because we have to use the HPER courts, which makes it a little bit of the walk for the kids,” Sampson said.\nThis year’s camps have not been any different from previous camps Coach Sampson has run, despite heightened expectations for Hoosier success next season after the signing of top recruit Eric Gordon.\n“It’s mostly the parents that get caught up in all the hype,” Sampson said. “Eric was around the gym (Monday) and I think the campers could have cared less. Their biggest concerns are when their next game is.”\nOne of the most important things Sampson stresses to all his campers is a philosophy he calls D.O.F.\n“It’s a very simple concept we try to instill into our campers,” he said. “It stands for discipline, organized and fun.”
(06/07/07 6:02pm)
One out of every seven Major League Baseball players has played in the Cape Cod League. IU sophomore catcher Josh Phegley hopes to follow in the footsteps of those players.\nThis summer, Phegley will become the first IU player ever to play for the Wareham Gatemen, a team from the Cape Cod Summer League based in Wareham, Mass. Last season, the Gatemen were one run away from winning the Cape Cod League championship. The league is sponsored by the MLB and attracts some of the best college players in the country.\n“It is a honor and a chance to bring the (IU baseball) program up,” Phegley said about the opportunity to play in such a high-profile summer league.\nIU coach Tracy Smith hopes the experiences from this summer can help Phegley in the future\n“This is a premiere summer league and a prospect league that can skyrocket a player’s stock,” Smith said.\nIn 2006, there were 198 former Cape Cod League players on Major League rosters. Some of the Cape Cod alumni include Frank Thomas, Craig Biggio, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito and Nomar Garciaparra. \nJohn Wylde, general manager of the Gatemen, said he is excited to have Phegley on the roster. Wylde said in an e-mail that Phegley originally came to him as an unsigned player hoping for a spot on the Wareham roster. When one of the signed catchers withdrew to recover from shoulder surgery, Phegley grabbed the open roster spot.\nPhegley first found out he might have a chance to play in the CCBL at the beginning of the IU baseball season when Smith mentioned it to him.\n“I knew how prestigious this league is,” he said. “It definitely came as a surprise.”\nPhegley agrees with Smith that, coming into the summer with the Gatemen, he needs to improve his hitting the most.\n“I need to find the swing I came into the (IU) season with,” Phegley said. \nIn his senior yeay at Terre Haute North Vigo High School, Phegley hit .592 with 13 home runs, 16 doubles and 50 RBIs, winning the state of Indiana’s Mr. Baseball Award.\nLast season, he finished with a .232 average, no home runs, eight doubles and 16 RBIs.\n“Josh definitely is strong and has power,” Smith said. “He just needs to mature as a hitter.”\nWylde is confident that, with the instruction of Gateman Manager Cooper Farris, Phegley’s hitting will improve. \n“I feel that our Cooper Farris is one of the best hitting coaches in the country,” Wylde said.\nPhegley is likely to get a lot of playing time. He is one of two catchers on the roster who are expected to split time at the position. \nPhegley and the Gatemen have their first preseason game Sunday against the Lowell, Mass., All-Americans. Their regular season will begin June 15, when they travel down Cape Cod to take on the Falmouth, Mass., Commodores.
(05/31/07 12:25am)
After a 12 year absence from the UPA College Ultimate Championships, The IU Club Ultimate Frisbee proved they belonged there. The Hoosiermama? team broke and tied for an 11th place finish in the Columbus, Ohio tournament after being seeded 14th before the beginning of the weekend. \nIn their first game against the University of Oregon, the Hoosiermama? team lost to a crisper team, 15-9. They faced the defending champs and overall number two seed, the University of Florida in their second game of the tournament. In a close game where the teams were trading points the Hoosiermama? team was done in by the Florida’s timely deep shots to win 15-10. \nThis dropped the Hoosiermama? team to 0-2 in pool play, which meant they had to beat the University of Delaware team with enough of a point difference to advance to the championship bracket.\n“Out of all the teams in our pool we knew we could beat them,” said senior co-captain Max Klaben. \nThe Hoosiermama? team ended up beating Delaware 15-10 to place third in their pool which allowed them to advance to the championship bracket. \nIn the pre-quarterfinals Hoosiermama? would face a familiar opponent, the University of Texas. Earlier this season in a tournament in New Orleans, Texas defeated the Hoosiermama? team, 13-4. In this game the IU team played a much more competitive game, but they still lost 15-13. This meant they could finish in the tournament no better than ninth.\nTo finish ninth the Hoosiermama’s? would have to win against the University of Kansas and then defeat the winner of the Ohio State and Williams University match.\nHoosiermama? was able to pull off the victory against Kansas 15-11, which set up a showdown with Ohio State. In a game that came down to the wire, Ohio State pulled through and won 15-14. With the loss it ensured the Hoosiermama? team tied for an 11th place finish.\n“I think most teams didn’t expect us to play how we did,” senior co-captain Jared ‘Gravy’ Payne said. “We did well we were only two points away from finishing top eight and one point away from finishing top 10.”\nThe hard fought return to the tournament was an appropriate ending for the graduating seniors on the team.\n“For our nine seniors graduating from the team it was a very fitting way to go out,” Klaben said. “This sets the foundation for our frisbee team in the future.” \nAfter playing in this tournament with the best teams in Ultimate Frisbee both captains agreed that in order for their team to get better they need to have more experience. Payne also said the team needs to play better defense in order to improve, and that it will be something they will to continue to work on in the future.\nThe Hoosiermama? team ended their season with a2 1-15 record and senior Cody Andrews was named to the All-Region team.
(05/24/07 1:47pm)
It’s been twelve years coming for the Hoosiermama? ultimate frisbee team. Twelve years ago was the last time the Hoosiermama? team advanced to the UPA College Ultimate Championships. That year the team placed last in the tournament, but this year, they hope for a better showing.\nThe College Ultimate Championships will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. Hoosiermama? advanced to the College Championships by winning the regional tournament in Rantoul, Ill., earning the 14th seed in the 16-team field.\nWhile the team has little experience playing in such big games, co-captain and senior Jared “Gravy” Payne doesn’t believe that will factor into Hoosiermama?’s tournament play.\n“We are more excited than anything,” Payne said. “This is the biggest tournament any one of us has ever played in.”\n The team’s other co-captain and senior Max Klaben said he thinks his team is actually at an advantage.\n“We have nothing to lose,” he said.\nHoosiermama?’s first game will be at 8:30 a.m. Friday against the University of Oregon. The teams are broken into four pools. with four teams in each pool, and each team is guaranteed five games. The pool with the Hoosiermama? team consists of the University of Oregon, the University of Delaware, whom the Hossiers faced last season and the defending national champions, the University of Florida. For the Hooisermama? team to meet their goal and advance to the championship bracket, they have to avoid finishing last in their pool. If they do end up of finishing last, the best they could finish is 9th.\n“The only way I will be disappointed is if we don’t play to our potential,” Payne said.\nOne advantage the Hooisermama? team has on most of their opponents is that teams they play do not have a chance to scout them. When teams play in big ultimate frisbee tournaments, there is always a chance that someone will videotape them and put them online. Unlike most of the teams at this weekend’s championships, however, the Hoosiermama? team has not played in any such tournaments recently. \nBoth captains agree that another big advantage to this year’s team’s success is actually having a coach, graduate student Drew Hendrickson. In the past, the captains have served as both players and coaches for the team. \n“Having a coach creates a lesser role as captains,” Payne said. “We are able to \nfocus more.”\nGoing into the tournament, Klaben said he feels confident of the hard work the team has put in this season. \n“Every tournament we have been improving. We are in control of how we play,” Klaben said.\nSince the tournament is so close to Bloomington, the team’s fans will have an opportunity to attend the games. Along with friends and families, Hooisermama? alumni also plan to make the trip to Ohio to cheer on the team.\n“We should have one of bigger crowds,” Klaben said.\nAll pool play will conclude Friday. The championship bracket will play Saturday, and the championship game will be held Sunday.