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(10/11/02 7:01am)
Freshman guard Bracey Wright said he couldn't see the crowd at Midnight Madness last year, but he could feel it and he could hear it.\nAs Wright made his way from the offices of Assembly Hall to the basketball court, all he could hear was the loudness of the crowd.\n"We came in from upstairs, and we didn't know how big it is yet," Wright said. "It was me, Marshall (Strickland) and Sean May, and once we walked in all, all we saw is this sea of red. Then we look up and people have our signs made, and there are people screaming at us."\nWelcome to IU and the madness of the basketball season.\nEarly Saturday morning, at 12:01 a.m. to be exact, the IU men's and women's basketball teams kicks off the first practice of the season.\nBut this practice is not the everyday practices the team will be experiencing the rest of the season. After tonight's practice, senior forward Jeff Newton said, the practices will be like "conditioning with a ball."\n"The first month is real intense," Newton said. "It's still trying to get us in good shape, and everything is still going to be real hard. Coach (Mike) Davis wants us to enjoy Midnight Madness, but come Saturday, that's when the fun and games are over."\nThe team has spent the last six weeks going through grueling individual workouts, including running the football stadium track and stairs and continuous weight-training. \nMidnight Madness signifies the end to these conditioning sessions, which the Hoosiers are not disappointed to usher out.\n"Conditioning this year was equivalent to a boot camp," junior center George Leach said. "Our strength coach, Geoff Eliason, he has to be a drill sergeant. He works us hard."\nSo for one night, the Hoosiers get to throw out the basics for 45 minutes or so, and just relax and have fun. Because this is the one chance they will get in a while, and each of them are taking advantage of it in different ways.\nLeach and Newton plan to be spectators during the competitions Saturday night, letting the younger guys show off for the first time for the IU students and fans.\n"This year, I'm just going to be watching," Leach said. "I don't feel like doing anything, so I'm just going to be watching and enjoying the show. We have a practice at 9 a.m. the next morning, so I'm going to be looking forward to not doing anything this time."\nWhile the new players are expected to participate the event, junior guard A.J. Moye is looking to show them all up by notching the third and final victory he needs in the Midnight Madness competitions.\n"A.J is getting in the three-point contest this year," Newton said. "He's saying if he wins he'll be the first to win all three events. I'm just going to sit back and watch. I don't want to show up the young guys"
(10/10/02 6:10am)
It was two hours before last year's IU-Wisconsin football game, and my co-beat writer and I were sitting in Madison traffic, waiting to get to Camp Randall Stadium.\nAs we sat at a red light, a van pulled up to the right side of the University rental car and a man rolled down his window.\n"Welcome to town, losers!"\nAfter he yelled his welcome at us, he drove off laughing and waving.\nWe laughed at his greeting, almost conceding to the fact that yes, the IU football team was going to lose to Wisconsin.\nFour hours later, both of us were scouring the emptying parking lots looking for that van. Because instead of the anticipated loss came a huge surprise. The Hoosiers, who were winless going into the game, beat the Badgers. But Wisconsin didn't just get beat, they got dominated by an IU team that appeared to be having an out-of-body experience.\nThe Hoosiers offense scored four times on consecutive plays that took less than two minutes total. The IU defense was impenetrable and unrelenting. The crazy Badger crowd that makes Madison one of the best places in the Big Ten to watch a football game was stunned. As was the rest of the country.\nNot long after IU pulled to a shocking 32-0 first quarter lead, the press box blew up with ringing cell phones. It was unimaginable that IU could actually be beating Wisconsin, and not just beating them, tearing them apart.\nMy brother called me a couple of times throughout the game to get updates, but the first time he called he asked me if he should call ESPN to tell them that the BottomLine was running the wrong score. That it should be IU 0, Wisconsin 32. \nBut this was no joke, and it certainly wasn't a mistake.\nIt was, more than anything, fun to watch. Even from up in the press box, the IU players emitted a sense of thrill and excitement that was contagious. Here they were doing exactly what they told everyone they could do. That if all areas of the team were clicking together, then they were unstoppable, and that day, they were.\nIt wasn't exactly the turning point of last season, because the Hoosiers followed up that performance with a dismal loss to Illinois the next week. That 35-14 loss was the last home game the Hoosiers dropped at home.\nBut for three hours, IU was inspired and exciting to watch. The Hoosiers went on to win four of their last six games, barely missing out on a chance to make it to a bowl game. And as good as the next four wins were, nothing could top that Wisconsin game. \nUnfortunately, last year, only those IU fans who traveled to the game were able to witness that apocalyptic win because the game was not televised.\nThis year, however, the Hoosiers are at home, on television and on the brink of busting wide open. But before IU gets a chance to double the pleasure of beating No. 22 Wisconsin twice in a row, there are a few obstacles standing in the Hoosiers' way.\nFirst of all this weekend could turn into a game of the Hoosiers playing Wile E. Coyote trying to chase down that darn Roadrunner, otherwise known as sophomore Anthony Davis. Davis is on pace to be the latest in a 10-year streak of Wisconsin running backs who have gained more than 1,000 yards in a season.\nSecondly, the Badger defense leads the Big Ten in causing turnovers. Their constant pressure is going to force the IU offense to be perfect. But if history does repeat, this could be ultimately be a reality.\nOne good sign for the Hoosiers is that Wisconsin averages a higher possession time than its opponents. IU didn't need time last year to run up the score, so if the Hoosiers manage to click this year, time is of no concern.\nBut what the Hoosiers need most of all is that guy in his van, giving out greetings before the game, so that after, while the Hoosiers gloat, he can eat his words.
(10/08/02 5:15am)
The IU football team is like a fine wine. \nWe've discussed the rush defense, or the lack of one. We talked about the fluctuating offense, the puzzling play-calling and the disaster known as the kicking team.\nBut we haven't talked about how IU is like wine. And I'm not talking $1.99 Boone's Farm.\nI'm talking about the old fine wines that need to be given time, patience and a chance to mature. The team needs all of these things, and that's why IU is like a large young bottle of Bordeaux. \nConsider the following fact: IU played 47 athletes in the loss against Ohio State, and of those, 29 of them were freshman or sophomores. And of those 18 that were left over, a couple of the positions are filled with players adjusting to a new position or adjusting to a starting position after four years. And let's not forget that all of the players are getting used to a brand new coaching staff.\nIt may seem kind of late in the season to be playing the youth card, but it's yet to be acknowledged, and is probably the most important reason that IU is 2-3.\nWith the amount of youth, injury and lack of depth that is plaguing the Hoosiers, regardless of the record or the teams IU has played, recognition for the adversity they are facing this year is necessary.\nIt's agreed that the kicking game has been a never-ending headache for the Hoosiers, and that never before has an extra-point attempt been so feared. But during summer camps, last year's kicker and the team veteran kicker, Adam Braucher, was injured. Kicking this year is sophomore Bryan Robertson, who last year was sidelined with a back injury and spent a majority of last season on the bench.\nYes, the Hoosiers quarterback is a fifth-year senior, and at this point in a fifth-year's career, well, experience would be a plus. But, Gibran Hamdan's playing time was minimal last year, and his offense has totally changed. As far as receivers, Glenn Johnson has already passed the number of catches he made total last year with the number of catches he's had in five games this season. This junior is joined by sophomore Courtney Roby, and together they average 8.2 catches per game for over 180 yards. \nAnd let's really look at the defense. Senior Kris Dielman spent all of last season at tight end, and now after the switch to defense, he is in the top five leading tacklers for IU. Of those above him, Damien Jones and John Kerr are freshman, Herana-Daze Jones is a sophomore and A.C. Carter joins Dielman as a senior. Herana-Daze Jones is tied for second place for most tackles in the Big Ten, after leading the category for the past weeks.\nBut in addition to the youth and the chess-like switching of player's positions, injuries have plagued the team, both to those who have redshirted for the season, and those who are playing through the pain. And there are a lot of those.\nNot to mention the unfilled scholarships that sit nearly abandoned, just waiting to be used. But while the scholarships collect dust, the team faces the possibility of having a scarce amount of backups. And with injuries becoming a daily occurrence and coach Gerry DiNardo excusing players like it's his job...okay, so it is. Either way, the Hoosiers have continued on, and with each game, shown signs of aging.\nLet's hope that the cork of this team can be taken off soon for all IU fans to enjoy.
(10/01/02 6:12pm)
Let's be completely straightforward. \nIU losing to Ohio State Saturday was not a surprise. \nIf anyone truly believed the Hoosiers could travel to Columbus and beat the Buckeyes, that person deserves the 'Optimist of the Decade' award. But the Hoosiers deserve all the credit for a tough first half. Had it not been for the 17 points given up in the third, that Optimist award just might have been given out.\nBiggest standout on defense:\nYes, there actually is a standout player, and that is freshman Damien Jones. While lately much of the hype on defense has been dedicated to linebacker Herana-Daze Jones, who is the Big Ten's leading tackler, Damien has been quietly establishing himself at the cornerback position. Saturday, against Ohio State, Damien had four total tackles. While that number is neither impressive nor the most in the game, Damien was instrumental in saving an early score by the Buckeyes on their first possession by breaking up a long pass. Look out for this young upstart.\nMost unsurprising event:\nOn Ohio State's first possession, it looked as if the Hoosiers could have a fighting chance in the game. Then freshman running back Maurice Clarett entered the game, and it was all over for the Hoosiers. On his first appearance in the game, Clarett helped the Buckeyes move the ball 50 yards in 12 plays, and capped it off with a touchdown. Even with an unstable knee, Clarett exploited the IU rush defense. Just think what's going to happen when the Hoosiers face a completely healthy running back later on. Actually don't, it will be better that way.\nBiggest identity crisis:\nOhio State fans and cheerleaders. Here's the situation. You are not Ohio University. You are The Ohio State University, which begs the question of why all but one of your cheers is missing the word, "State." Now unless you are only up to the P's in the alphabet, I'm sure there is someone at your school creative enough to come up with a cheer that incorporates it. Just don't do what the IU athletic department did, and spend money on a marketing company to come up with a revamping plan. You'll end up with nothing but debt, and nothing to show for it. Well, expect incorrect cheers.\nBest multi-tasking:\nLet me get personal for a moment, and introduce you to my sports editor/best friend/bodyguard/roommate/voice to tell people off when I can't, or won't: Miss Katie Schoenbaechler. Following last Thursday's column about Ohio State, Katie was intercepting my e-mail, answering my phone and keeping watch outside my door, waiting to pounce on any Ohio State person wanting to mess with me. Well, not really to that extent. But as a sports editor, she's been great, and as a friend, well, everyone wishes they had one like her.\nMost "Did they mean to do that?" moment:\nApparently, the Buckeyes got their signals crossed, literally. The OSU quarterback was walking off the field for the play just as the center snapped the ball late in the third quarter, and…well…never mind. This one is just too easy.\nBest imitation of a Butterfinger candy bar:\nGlenn Johnson in the third quarter. Ohio State had just scored early in the third quarter, and IU was on it's way to marching down the field to close the gap to 10. But disaster struck when Johnson, usually a dependable receiver, dropped a beautiful pass thrown by quarterback Gibran Hamdan. This led to a domino effect of letdowns as, on the same possession, Ryan Hamre's punt was blocked, and two minutes later, the Bucks scored again.\nBest response:\nOhio State fans, students and alumni. Following last Thursday's column about OSU, I received numerous e-mails from Buckeye supporters. While it was impossible for me to respond to each one of them, I wanted to say thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my articles. I hope that these people who wrote continue to read my columns and support me in the future. Thanks!
(09/19/02 4:59am)
Central Michigan, a threat? As a Michigan native, that statement really shouldn't ever be uttered. At least not seriously. And definitely not as a description for this Saturday's football game when IU faces the Chippewas.\nBut Central is undefeated! \nIU would be too if they played Sam Houston State, Wyoming and Akron. CMU is supposed to be a cakewalk for the Hoosiers, not a threat. IU coach Gerry DiNardo didn't bump NC State and put William & Mary and Central on the schedule for no reason.\nBut IU is weak, pretty much everywhere! \nAgain, it's Central Michigan! This is not a school known for its football prowess. And if IU fans are remotely worried about this week's game, they better not even think about the upcoming Big Ten season. The thought promises to cause bleeding ulcers, and that's just no fun.\nBut a prediction is no good without hard facts, so let's compare IU to Central Michigan.\nIn general: When I was a senior in high school, the only people who applied to Central were those who needed a guaranteed acceptance, or those failing home economics. One classmate was accepted into CMU with a 1.9 GPA. But! This particular classmate was a rockstar at partying, and in Michigan, Central is known as party central. (No pun intended!) Of course, they aren't the No. 1 party school in America.\nWinner: IU by a Dean's List student doing a keg stand.\nHistorically speaking: Hey, IU may not have a winning record against any Big Ten school, but the Hoosiers are 24-4-1 against Mid-American schools. And IU hasn't lost a game against that conference since Michigander Gerald Ford was president. Well, no Michigan resident has been commander-in-chief in 25 years, and it's severely doubtful that the Chippewa's will break IU's 12-game win-streak against the MAC conference.\nWinner: IU, even though Ford was much cooler than Indiana's Dan Quayle. We won't even compare brains.\nIU's Gibran Hamdan vs. CMU's Derrick Vickers: Last Saturday, Vickers had the difficult task of facing the well-known brutal defense of…Akron. Must have been tough, especially when Akron had no sacks on the quarterback, no tackler who had double-digit tackles and apparently no blitz. So while Vickers was enjoying the roominess of the pocket, Hamdan was getting beat down by the UK Wildcats.\nWinner: Vickers. Despite the joke teams Central calls opponents, his numbers are impressive: 796 total passing yards with a 66 percent completion average.\nIU's defense vs. CMU's defense: Maybe we shouldn't even go here. But we will. Because Central's defense has 200 total tackles on the season, while the Hoosiers recorded 227. Both teams have eight players with double-digit tackles, but IU's leader, Herana-Daze Jones, has 40 total tackles which is 15 more than Central's main tackler Dante McKnight.\nWinner: Draw. If the Hoosiers hope to win this game, the IU defense has to play a complete game, which is not two quarters.\nGerry DiNardo vs. Mike DeBord: Okay, I cannot tell a lie. I'm biased towards DeBord, current head coach for the Chippewas and former offensive coach for the Michigan Wolverines. Some of my favorite football memories include the stellar DeBord-led offense back in 1997 when Michigan won the National Championship. Had he not opted for the job at Central, he might have won this one outright.\nWinner: Draw. If DiNardo has his defense rolling and DeBord gets his offense firing, this is going to be an interesting battle.\nIU's mascot vs. CMU's mascot: Oh wait a second. IU doesn't have a mascot. It's not that hard to figure out that defining a "Hoosier" is near impossible. And yet, the brain surgeons that run the IU Athletic Department are four months past their deadline of introducing the IU mascot. Fabulous idea to hire that marketing company in Indianapolis. It's obvious it's been a huge success.\nWinner: CMU. IU lost this one when they got rid of those inflatable football players that ran around the stadium. \nOverall Winner: IU. Even though IU is run by knuckleheads, and DiNardo's restructuring plan looks to be in shape by 2080, the Hoosiers will win. And not just in the post-game chugging contest.
(09/17/02 5:13am)
The tinmen of the IU football team discovered Oz in Kentucky Saturday and found their hearts. Despite losing 27-17 to the Wildcats, the Hoosiers showed more fight and enthusiasm than they had in the previous two games combined. After getting behind 14-0 in the first quarter, and then having to wait while lightning delayed the game, it would have been easier, and not surprising, had the Hoosiers given up. Instead, IU came out fighting, and nearly upset Kentucky. So here are this week's awards following the disappointing loss.\nBest resemblance of Babe, Paul Bunyan's Blue Ox:\nKentucky's quarterback, Jared Lorenzen. In fact, being as Lorenzen was completely clad in blue, the amount that Lorenzen resembled the fictitious ox was uncanny. This moose in quarterback's clothing was listed on the Kentucky roster as 6-foot-4, 275 pounds. Ugh, try adding 25 pounds to that. To put it in perspective, IU's quarterback, Gibran Hamdan, is listed as 6-foot-6, 231 pounds. That's two inches taller and 44 pounds less. It's not surprising that Kentucky didn't call any quarterback draw or option plays.\nBest follow-up play\nJoe Gonzalez's interception. Following the Hamdan-to-Johnson 67-yard touchdown, Gonzalez picked Lorenzen's pass and ran 36 yards to the endzone. This play by the defense gave the Hoosiers their first and only lead of the game. It was a good moment for the IU defense who played heinously in the game against Utah. For a majority of the game against Kentucky, the IU defense was solid, and Gonzalez's interception-touchdown capped it off perfectly.\nBest example of who's-laughing-now\nGerald Carr, former IU quarterbacks coach, and current Kentucky assistant and running backs coach. Last year, when IU coach Gerry DiNardo was hired, DiNardo completely cleared out former IU coach Cam Cameron's coaching staff. This included Carr, who was current Pittsburgh Steeler Antwaan Randle El's coach. If you'll remember, Randle El was named first-team All-America and the Big Ten Most Valuable Player last year. And now at Kentucky, Carr coaches senior tailback Artose Pinner, among others. Against IU, Pinner, the main attraction of UK's offense, rushed 25 times for 141 yards. Pinner also received the ball 10 times for 92 yards. That's a total of 233 yards, out of Kentucky\'s 327 total. Man, it's a good thing DiNardo got rid of him.\nWorst image of a martyr\nGibran Hamdan. Following the game, Hamdan said that the loss was on his shoulders and that he lost the game for IU. It's unfortunate that in a team sport, one player feels responsible for a loss that in which all players should be held liable. True, it's hard to ignore Hamdan's interception late in the game that led to UK's touchdown, which was the ultimate backbreaking moment. But earlier, Hamdan, who even after getting pummeled on more than one occasion by the UK defense, dove head first each time he scrambled for yards. In his first game as a starter, Hamdan completed 13 of 38 passes for 234 yards. Compared to Kentucky's seasoned quarterback, who went 19 of 32 for 183 yards, Hamdan wasn't that shabby. Accepting responsibility is honorable, but unheralded. Hopefully his teammates have told him the same thing.\nMost questionable play-calling\nIU coach Gerry DiNardo. It's simply unexplainable how DiNardo decided when to go for it on fourth downs and when not to. Specifically in the third quarter, IU was 4-and-inches from a first down, on the UK 44-yard line and DiNardo decides to punt it instead of go for it, ending a momentum-building series. This is confusing for the fact that at this point in the game, the defense hadn't allowed UK to score since the first quarter, and that the offense did go for it on fourth down in the first quarter, and picked up the first down on a quarterback sneak. It made no sense for DiNardo to halt the offensive drive, and give UK the ball. Who knows what might have happened.
(09/12/02 5:40am)
Two days ago, I got an urgent message from my friend Stephanie, who wanted to know if I had gotten any death threats yet. And if not, she wanted to know if the reason I wasn't answering my phone was because I was, at the time, being held in a headlock.\nLater that night, I went to my other job at the SRSC, where I was asked if I had gotten any scathing e-mails, or anyone knocking on my front door yet. The guy told me that he would not have been able to write what I wrote. \nWhich led me to ask, what is it really that I did? Wrote the truth? Sorry to have to go back to the old cliche, but it's true that the truth hurts.\nAnd for the members of the IU football team, the truth doesn't just hurt, it burns, stabs and maims what they do on the football field. The score, the statistics and I don't lie. And the bottom line, is that I don't seek out every negative aspect of the football team, they have handed that to me on a decorated platter for the past two weeks. \nBut today, the difference with this column is that I am writing this on the one year anniversary of the gravest day in American history, and talking about the upcoming Kentucky game seems trivial compared to what is going on in the nation surrounds us. \nAnd I don't have the heart or the strength to write anything that could add to the hurt going on this week.\nYesterday, while searching through the IU athletic Web site, I came across reflections of the IU athletes on the Sept. 11 anniversary, and three of the football players had given their thoughts on the day.\nSenior safety Joe Gonzalez offered his thoughts, prayers and wishes for world peace in his moment of contemplating Sept. 11. Last year, a day after the attacks, Gonzalez said that if his country needed him to fight in the at-the-time imminent war, he said he would be there, and knew that many of the other guys on the team would do the same.\nNewly named starting quarterback Gibran Hamdan professed his love of America, for the freedoms Americans enjoy and his praise for the men and women engaged in battle so that the U.S. citizens can enjoy those freedoms.\nSenior offensive lineman Enoch DeMar urged everyone to "keep those who passed in your hearts and memories forever."\nYesterday, the team record didn't matter. It didn't matter that the IU team was going to have its hands full against their upcoming Kentucky opponent and the Wildcats beefy quarterback Jared Lorenzen. None of the serious doubts surrounding the football team are relevant in this community or this country right now.\nAnd the football team, realizing this, took the time to share their thoughts on a day when America was hurting. Perhaps, despite not living up to IU's expectations of them as a worthy football team, the football players have shown that they aren't completely wrapped up in themselves and the game they play. Perhaps IU students, fans and myself should respect them for the way they carried themselves off the field during this somber time.\nNow let me be completely straight forward. My current state of respect and optimism given to the team today doesn't mean that next Tuesday, if the team plays as atrociously as it has in the past two weekends, will I be any less truthful about the ugliness of the teams play.\nBut for today, I see nothing wrong with adding a little optimism to a hurting community and a hurting team.\nAnd that is the honest truth.
(09/06/02 6:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS -- U.S. team coach George Karl paced left with less than a minute to go in the fourth quarter. Then he paced right.
Finally, Karl went still as his team went from being favorites to being victims of a second upset, this time at the hands of Yugoslavia in the quarterfinals of the World Basketball Championships.
In front of a crowd of rambunctious Yugoslavian fans and stunned Americans, the Slavic team battled their way to an 81-78 victory.
(09/05/02 6:21am)
Utah is giving the IU football team no respect. \nFor that matter, neither is the rest of the country.\nThe Utah Web site doesn't even bother to spell IU's head coach's name right. Gerry DiNardo turned into "Jerry" DiNardo in their press release. A "G" into a "J" is not a significant mistake, but still, if Utah was showing any respect for the undefeated Hoosiers, one would think they would care enough to make sure a name was spelled right.\nCBS Sportsline predicted Utah would win by three points, 22-19. \nEven IU fans who post messages continuously on the IU football fan Web site, predict that Utah will probably be the victors in this game. They don't even keep with the three-point spread; a few have predicted a blowout for Utah.\nAnd to quote ESPN.com, "More Mountain West respect should be on the way after Utes dispose of Indiana." Ouch, that's not mincing words at all is it?\nIU is getting no love from anyone for this third meeting with the Utes. Perhaps last year's game hasn't completely been forgotten. But then again, why should it be?\nIU had a lead going into the fourth quarter of the 2001 game, but someone forgot to tell the Hoosiers that having the lead didn't mean an automatic win. Too bad, maybe IU would have shown up.\nInstead, Utah scored 14 points early in the quarter and denied IU the chance to tie the game on a two-point conversion attempt. The Utes won 28-26, and headed to a bowl game while the IU team sat at home watching the bowl games on television, wondering what could have been.\nIf only they bothered to show up for the fourth quarter. \nBut it's a new year, with a new coach (Again, Utah, that's Gerry with a G!) and a new defense. Unfortunately, going out to Salt Lake, the Hoosiers are without what they need most: An offense.\nFollowing Saturday's game, DiNardo said quarterback Tommy Jones could have played better. Word to that. Jones' statistics basically mirror Utah's quarterback Lance Rice's; Jones attempted just two more passes than Rice and both had 165 yards. But a consistent, unstoppable Jones is needed more than ever. \nAs of now, Jones is without his leading rusher Brian Lewis, who is questionable for Saturday's game. Lewis suffers from a sprained ankle. Not good news as Jones and the IU offense faces a Ute defense that held it's first opponent, Utah State, to three points, 162 total yards, including minus-9 rushing yards, and an interception. \nUtah's leading rusher was Marty Johnson, who rushed for 176 yards on 30 carries, and contributed over half of the 282 total rushing yards the Utes racked up last Saturday. In short, Johnson rushed for 76 more yards than the Hoosiers had total. Oh boy.\nWith a defense that needs to prove the first game wasn't a fluke and an offense without a consistent quarterback or dominant running back, CBS Sportsline was being nice. Just a three-point spread? Looking at the statistics and comparing IU to Utah, that number should be multiplied by 10 billion. That is the biggest cause of concern for the IU football team and its fans.\nThen again, so is Utah's spelling abilities.
(09/03/02 6:37pm)
Yup, the IU football team won its first football game. While it really should not be much of a shock, since they did play William and Mary, there were several moments throughout the game that deserve recognition. So, much like the "most likely" awards given out in high school, here are a few given to the team:\nBest move by coach Gerry DiNardo: Last spring, DiNardo moved senior Kris Dielman from offense to defense. Very insightful, considering that Dielman won Big Ten Player of the Week honors yesterday. Dielman had a sack, rushed the quarterback several times, recovered a fumble and had five tackles for a loss. Whoa. No wonder Cam Cameron was fired. Just imagine what the team could have done with him on defense and Antwaan Randle El on offense. Bygones.\nBest Support of a popular belief: Referees are morons. And the ones at the IU game didn't do much to challenge that statement. In the fourth quarter, IU was called for pass interference. Too bad no one told the refs that the pass was supposed to be catchable, not 20 yards out of bounds. And the safeties are supposed to be close to the receiver. Doh!\nMost Dane Fife-like moment: This can also be deemed the biggest bonehead play. Much like Fife fouling Duke's Jay Williams in the final seconds of the Sweet Sixteen game last year, IU's defense decided to rough the kicker, when William and Mary was Fourth and 38. IU was down by a touchdown and could have had great field position. Instead the defense decides to get a penalty, and give William and Mary a fresh start to move the ball down the field. That's probably not the most-used play in the playbook.\nScariest: IU's offense. 263 yards? Total? 50 percent completion on passing for a team that needs to rely heavily on its passing game. That's just not going to cut it in future games. Against William and Mary, it worked, thanks to the defense. Those numbers will probably be okay against Central Michigan as well. But in the Big Ten? No chance.\nNicest Surprise: The IU defense. For a team that just two years ago was called the "Iniana" football team because it had no "d," the defense was shockingly strong. In addition to Dielman, the Jones', Damien and Herana-Daze, created constant pressure on the offense. Damien had caused a fumble, but the earlier-referred-to morons called it back. And let's not forget junior Antonio Watson who saved the game for IU. Watson broke up the final two passes of the game in the endzone, preventing a possible tied game. Go ahead and pat yourselves on the back. You deserve it. Really!\nMost sigh-of-relief worthy: The IU kicking situation. Okay, so sophomore Bryan Robertson missed a field goal attempt in the third quarter. He still made one, and each PAT he attempted was GOOD! Imagine that! And punter Ryan Hamre had a punt that was 45 yards long! Perhaps IU might be able to rely on special teams this year instead of always going for a touchdown because the uprights are 20 yards away from the line of scrimmage. This is just too much.\nMost Sacrificing-the-body moment:\nGranted senior Tommy Jones didn't have the best showing in his second debut as IU's quarterback. We won't remember the three interceptions, or his -0.5 average rush. Well, maybe we will. But he showed he definitely has a knack for blocking. In the third quarter, Jones sacrificed his body to trip up a defender on a reverse play, and helped sophomore receiver Courtney Roby rush for six yards. Way to take one for the team. Now let's talk about the interceptions.\nMost Surreal Moment: Actually it's moments. Because on a few occasions, the team earned enough respect from the crowd to bring it to its feet. Yes, a CROWD! More than once, and most of the time, it was when IU was on defense. AND! There were 33,427 fans in attendance. That's almost 10,000 more than made it to most home games last year. If only the Athletic Department was intelligent enough to make all games free to students, IU could have fans all season. (On a note to fans: A football game lasts FOUR quarters, not two!) But don't let that take away from the huge support the team received Saturday.\nMost soap Opera-like questions: Can IU's offense improve? Can IU's defense continue it's amazing uphill climb towards greatness? Will the athletic department realize that a student section in the endzone is a terrible, horrible, awful idea? Stay tuned to find out. And these are the days of our lives...
(08/30/02 6:30am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Tip-Off Celebration wasn't much of a celebration as few people came out to attend the festivities at the Pan American Plaza Thursday.\nTo kick off the 11-day 2002 World Basketball Championships, an opening ceremony was planned. While bands performed and celebrities made appearances, there was a noticeable lack of fan interest and most obvious was that hardly any U.S. fans were found milling around outside the RCA Dome.\nWhile it was only the first day and the U.S. team did not play until later in the evening, many vendors and sponsors who set up booths and various attractions outside the dome were surprised by the sparseness of individuals throughout the day.\n"We expected thousands," said Kim Alexander, who was working a Blue Cross/Blue Shield carbon monoxide-testing booth. "We didn't get nearly that many. Hopefully more will come out over the weekend."\nWhile the basketball games between the sixteen different countries, including the U.S. team, remain the biggest venue for the next week and a half, there are several other events intended to draw fans, both nationally and internationally.\nDuring the 62-game competition, fans can also attend fireworks set to music next Monday night along the White River. There will be concerts in the plaza in front of the RCA Dome, and a Roundball Rally will be held through tomorrow. The rally gives children and adults a chance to play basketball-related games, eat a variety of foods and buy merchandise.\nAlexander said she hopes more will attend over the weekend.\n"It's just really surprising that there weren't as many U.S. fans as there are from other countries," Alexander said.\nTons of Turkey\nWhile the U.S. is scraping by with little fan support, the Turkey team is loaded with fan support. Turkey flags and t-shirts, along with faces painted in support of teams are seen all around Indianapolis.\nEven after losing 78-75 to Puerto Rico in their first game yesterday, Turkey fans remain optimistic. After all, this is the first time Turkey has qualified to participate in the Championships.\n"Our country is very excited." Ismet Mustecaplioglu of Istanbul said. "Much more than here. There are no Americans here. It was a nice game (Thursday). We're a little disappointed, but I'm sure we'll qualify in the next rounds."\nMustecaplioglu made the 11-hour flight to Indianapolis with his four children and wife in tow. The family spent the first day of the Championships watching Turkey play and exploring the city.\nBut Mustecaplioglu said that what he's enjoyed most is seeing all the Turkish people there.\n"It's a good thing," he said. "Otherwise there would be no one here. The place would be empty.\"\nDouble Duty\nLei Yin, a marketing associate for the Lilly Corporation is cheering for two teams in the Championships: China and the U.S.\nBetween games, though, he and a group of men and women sit outside the stadium promoting a Chinese style of meditation. But he still has time to concentrate on the games as well. \n"Oh yes, I'm a China fan, but also an American team fan," Yin said. "I cheer for both teams. I'm anticipating Saturday night's game. I expect it to be a good game." \nBringing various cultures and beliefs to one spot is expected when 16 countries are brought together, and Yin and his group have set up an exhibit outside the RCA Dome to promote their style of meditation.\nBut basketball is ultimately what drew him here.\n"We have friends in the stadium enjoying the game, and we'll be there later," Yin said. "We just want to show people that the joy that comes from watching basketball can also be found through meditation"
(08/30/02 6:21am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- It didn't matter that at the end of the first period the U.S. team only scored 11 of its 20 field goal attempts. Or that U.S. team member Elton Brand scored all but 2 of the first 13 points for the team that has admitted an offensive weakness.\nIt didn't matter because in the U.S. team's first game of the World Basketball Championships Thursday its opponent, Algeria, struggled even more. And to add to the pain of losing, Algeria shot a mere 31 percent, while the U.S. rebuilt their offense and dominated on defense in the second half. The U.S. team easily defeated Algeria, 110-60.\n"We wanted to get out to an early start,"U.S. team member and Detroit Piston Ben Wallace said. "We knew we were going to have a big presence in the paint. Tonight's going to get us started and is going to get us motivated for the rest of the games."\nIn practice Tuesday, U.S. team member and Indiana Pacer Jermaine O'Neal expressed his surprise at the U.S. being unable to break 100 points. The team was able to do so tonight, but it was a struggle in the beginning.\nWith Brand leading the team in scoring in the first quarter, it was U.S. team member and Boston Celtic Paul Pierce who revived the team in the second half. Pierce went 6-for-11 from the field and added four three-pointers. \nPierce's shooting deflated whatever hope the Algerian team had for a comeback. Pierce had back-to-back three-pointers in the third quarter that extended the U.S. lead to 24.\n"Paul led the way for us tonight,"U.S. coach George Karl said. "I thought he was fantastic. Elton Brand also came out for us tonight."\nThe U.S. team went into the locker room at the half with a 19-point lead over Algeria, despite shooting 47.5 percent. From beyond the arc, the U.S. team was 5-for-17. Not great, considering the three-point line is closer thanks to the International Basketball Federation rules the Championships follow. \nBut a stronger second half replaced the ugly start. As the U.S. built up its offensive numbers, Algeria crumbled.\n"Regardless of the team we play, we're going to come out hard,"U.S. team member and Toronto Raptor Antonio Davis said. "We feel if we can do that, we are going to be pretty tough to beat."\nThe U.S. team's ease was aided by the Algeria team who were unable to convert U.S. turnovers to points and whose jump shots were off the mark for a majority of the game.\nThe domination of the U.S. team, despite its early offensive struggles, was apparent from tip-off. The U.S. went on a 13-0 run in the first four minutes of the game, and didn't allow Algeria to put numbers on the board until the first quarter was half over. Algeria was down 13-1 following a successful free throw.\n"We came out and our defensive intensity is what is going to win games for us,"U.S. team member and Chicago Bull Jay Williams said. "If we keep that same defensive intensity up throughout the whole tournament, I think we have a good chance of winning a lot of basketball games."\nBut the group of Algerian fans that took up the east side of the court in the RCA Dome last night had a reason to cheer when Algeria went on a three-point scoring tirade and came within six of the U.S. team.\nThat was the closest Algeria came to the U.S. team during the entire game.\nIn between sloppy passes and missed jump shots, the U.S. teams used its height advantage and under the basket power to jump to a 51-32 lead at the half.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Much like the hot and cold weather plaguing central Indiana, the Hoosier football team had highs and lows during their second scrimmage of the spring season.\n"It went good and OK," senior wide receiver Antwaan Randle El said. "We didn't play as well as we wanted on offense, and we still have some things that need to be corrected on defense, but overall we stayed with it and near the end made some big plays."\nThe offense and the defense struggled early in the scrimmage. \nSophomore quarterback Tommy Jones, one of three quarterbacks competing for the starting position, led the first team offense. But Jones was off the mark.\n"We didn't ask Tommy Jones to do a whole lot," coach Cam Cameron said. "A missed completion here or there is big, especially in a close ball game. It's the fundamental plays he's got to make on a consistent basis."\nBut where the first team offense was struggling, the second team offense was showing some promise. The second team got the ball past the defense on a couple of different plays, and managed to find the end zone.\n"Our second team offense scored three out of the first four times, so I thought our twos on offense really played the best they've played," Cameron said. "The latter part of the scrimmage our first offense finally got on track. But it balanced out pretty good. Both sides of the ball didsome good things." \nThe defense found themselves making mistakes, but amid a plethora of missed tackles and misread assignments, there were some highlights. \nThe defense got in a few hard hits. Junior linebacker Devin Schaffer, sophomore cornerback Michael Hanley and sophomore strong safety Joe Gonzalez each made some big plays that showed improvement for the defense.\n"It's not an easy thing building a successful defense," Schaffer said. "On offense, one guy can make plays and carry your offense, but on defense, if one guy makes a mistake, it's positive yardage. But we're trying to iron things out."\nTurnovers plagued both sides during the scrimmage. The offense had a couple of fumbles from both the first and the second team.\nThe defense let the ball get over their heads a couple of times, and a few missed tackles led to big plays from the offense. Cameron said the safeties are going to have to get better.\nRandle El, freshman running back Brian Lewis and junior running back Levron Williams each produced a big play for the offense. Each of them were able to find running room for 15 or more yards. \n"We've gotten better everyday," Randle El said. "Our practices have been real physical, and that's what we need. Our defense is really coming at our receivers. Our linebackers are hitting the fullbacks. We have some hitting and some physical stuff going on and that's great. But we're working together, and we're not giving up on each other"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
A mess of tricycles, costumes and loud music converged in Assembly Hall Thursday night as the Mini 500 kicked off Little 500 weekend.\n"Tonight came together well," said senior Jayme Jones, IU Student Foundation Steering Committee member. "Everyone worked really hard. I'm excited with how it came out."\nThe competition began with Ashton Annihilators in the lead in the women's division, Delta Chi in the men's and Collins Catastrophies in the co-ed group. But none of those teams finished the night with the top spot.\nThe race reached a climax when a controversial call in the men's division declared Sigma Chi the winners. The close call forced an extra race to determine the winner.\nDelta Chi, Sigma Chi and Delta Sigma Pi made it to the final round for the men, but the race was really between Sigma Chi and Delta Chi. Both teams stayed neck and neck, until Delta Chi, the lead men's team going into the event, was disqualified twice for illegal riding.\n"As their coach, I say this is a travesty to the institution," junior Steve Lo said. "It's an outrage. We've been training year-round, and it was totally unfair."\nThe Sigma Chi team -- senior Chris Mansfield, junior Corey Mosher, senior Jack Donaldson and senior Trent Hahn -- didn't qualify during the preseason because of personal reasons in the house. But the team, which won the event last year, bounced back, giving it two consecutive titles.\n"The race was awesome," Mansfield said. "But I'm not surprised we won, because we are returning champions. It's a pretty good feeling."\nThe rest of the races were not quite as eventful, but had upsets of their own.\nHeading into the women's race, Ashton, which won the event last year and led all of the women's teams in qualifications, was expected to win. But the Evans Scholars Caddy Girls came away with the victory.\n"This is great," said senior Shannon Hoffman of Caddy Girls. "Ashton had the best qualifying time coming into tonight, so we made that our goal. We wanted to beat them. This is great."\nCollins Catastrophies were leading the co-ed division, when Delta Sigma Pi knocked them out in the semi-round.\nCBGBs emerged from the No. 14 spot to take home the trophy, coming from second-to-last position to win the race on a night filled with hoopla. \nThe race kicked off with excitement as the teams made their entrances into the balloon-filled, crazed gym. A poster hung at the front of the gym with a Harley Davidson logo and the "Live to trike, trike to live" logo stenciled on it.\nBut the costumes stole the show.\nDelta Chi showed up in women's dresses, and Delta Zeta wore men's suits. Lambda Chi Alpha showed up with its shirts on backward and continued the theme by racing backward.\nFormer basketball coach "Bob Knight" reappeared, escorted by Alpha Sigma Phi members, who posed as Texas Tech basketball players.\n"Overall, the participants were not too rowdy," Jones said. "The Mini 500 is a great kickoff event for the Little 500, because it gets everyone in the spirit of the weekend. It's such a fun event"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Before the football team headed to Wolfpack territory, coach Cam Cameron and his players promised a "statement" would be made.\nBut before a sold out crowd of 51,500 Thursday at North Carolina State, the statement of an "improved team" was instead replaced by painful plays that bore strong resemblance to last season.\nThe Hoosiers had two late looks at the endzone, and fell to the Wolfpack 35-14. \n"I can't remember any point in time when we have made that many mistakes," Cameron said of his teams' turnovers. "I take full responsibility for our guys coming out and making mistakes. I think you can tell it wasn't from a lack of effort on their part."\nThe solo touchdown drive came from a nine-play, 70-yard drive that ended in junior quarterback Tommy Jones' 15-yard pass to junior tight end Kris Dielman. But the drive came with less than six minutes left in the game. Until that point the team only made it to NC State's 23-yard line. All despite senior Antwaan Randle El's jumps between wide receiver (30 yards on four catches), quarterback (1-for-2 for seven yards), punter (his kicks averaged 35 yards) and punt returner (three returns for 27 yards).\n"It was very frustrating," Randle El said. "We didn't execute. We didn't move the ball like we normally do." \nThe second touchdown came with 4:08 left in the game. With Wolfpack (1-0) reserves in, junior fullback Jeremi Johnson ran for a 17-yard touchdown. A failed on-side kick gave the Wolfpack the opportunity to wind down the remaining seconds of the game. \nThe question of who would play quarterback was answered by Cameron's yo-yoing of Randle El and Jones. Both took snaps at quarterback, and in the first half were equally ineffective, completing only 27 plays for 74 yards.\n"It's not where we wanted to be," Randle El said. "We have to correct that." \nThe rotating system showed little improvement in the second half as the Hoosier (1-0) offense punted once, fumbled on a quarterback sack and failed twice on fourth-down conversions.\n"No matter who the quarterback is, we jumped offsides and made mistakes," Cameron said. "We took a gamble."\nJones and Randle El divided time in the Hoosier's first second-half drive. But between Jones' passes and Randle El's option plays, the Hoosiers were unable to capitalize.\nWith IU struggling on offense, and the defense in the unfamiliar territory of increased field time, the Wolfpack ripped through holes and scored two consecutive touchdowns to increase the lead to 35-0 with 10 minutes left in the game. \n"I think (the defense) played better," senior linebacker Devin Schaffer said. "We still have some mistakes we have to eliminate. But that's our job to stop them, so we're not looking for any moral victory."\nDespite a 21-0 halftime deficit, the defense came out of the tunnel and had two consecutive stops on the Wolfpack offense before allowing the two scores. NC State was forced to punt twice before using good field position to find the endzone.\nAs expected, the Wolfpack attacked the Hoosier secondary on its first drive of the game. After IU deferred the kickoff, NC State and last year's ACC Rookie of the Year, quarterback Philip Rivers, came out throwing. Rivers, a major factor in a win over the Hoosiers last year, finished the game 22-for-33, gaining 243 yards and scoring three touchdowns.\n"He's a smart quarterback," Schaffer said. "I thought we did a good job of putting pressure on him, and making make some quick decisions. But he's only a sophomore and he plays like a senior."\nThe Wolfpack completed only one of its three passes during the first drive of the game, and the IU defense had its first stop of the season. But on River's second time out, he went 3-for-3 on third downs, orchestrated 11 plays and threw a touchdown pass to his senior tight end Willie Wright. The point after was blocked.\nKicking was a weak spot for both teams. Hoosier place kicker, sophomore Adam Braucher, saw his first attempt go wide left. Punter Ryan Hambre had one punt caught by a Wolfpack defender for a touchdown. His second attempt was blocked, and his third and fourth attempts went 12 and 17 yards respectively.\n"I'm especially concerned about our kicking game and mistakes offensively in the red zone," Cameron said. "But we can't panic. We just have to get back to work, and that's what we're going to do"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Three crucial plays. A missed field goal, an interception and a failed two-point conversion were the difference in a game that slipped through the Hoosiers' fingers.\nDespite leading the game going into the fourth quarter, IU (0-2) gave up 14 unanswered points to the Utah Utes (2-1) and had a successful two-point conversion called back to drop the game 28-26.\n"I think the defense played as well as offense did," said senior quarterback Antwaan Randle El. "They had just enough mistakes to get them beat. They didn't give up 40 (points) and we didn't score as we should have. No one is to blame but everyone is to blame."\nUtah was trailing the Hoosiers 20-14 at the beginning of the final period, but before an attendance of 26,591, Utah marched down the field on its second possession of the quarter. The Utes needed just more than two minutes to move the ball down the field, and score on a 27-yard touchdown reception.\nOn the Hoosiers' next possession, Randle El, who is expected to stay at quarterback, threw an interception which set up the Utes second touchdown. Utah needed only two plays before finding the endzone, and with 10 minutes left in the game, the Hoosiers trailed by eight.\n"We throw an interception and give them basically a touchdown or the right position when we are ahead," said head coach Cam Cameron. "That's the only turnover we had, but it's critical at that point."\nIU drained the clock for six minutes on its next possession while attempting to tie the score. The offense converted two third-downs and one fourth-down before Randle El found junior wide receiver Glenn Johnson for a touchdown.\nIU totaled two penalties against Utah, but none more critical than the one with 3:35 remaining in the game. The Hoosiers went for a game-tying, two-point conversion after the touchdown pass, but were called for illegal procedure, and the successful attempt was recanted. On the second try, Randle El was forced to scramble and fell just short of the goal line.\n"All the things that have gone against us. We're down, we need to come back, we have to score, we have to go for two, we have to execute and get the game in overtime," Cameron said. "And we can't get lined up (for the two-point conversion). We've got a wide receiver who needs to get on the ball, and the great thing about college football is all you have to do is look at the official and if his arm is out, that means you are off the ball. That is the difference in this ball game."\nOpting against an onside kick with just over three minutes remaining, the Hoosier defense allowed the Utes to get down to the IU 31-yard line before taking a knee with 1:25 left in the ball game.\n"I thought we had enough time," Cameron said. "We had almost four minutes and feel like you gave yourself a chance, but then they take the ball and run it down and throw. We weren't able to get them stopped."\nUtah received the ball first in the game, and on its first possession was able to score on a one-yard run. The score remained 7-0 until the Hoosiers first drive in the second quarter. During the drive, senior running back Levron Williams -- who had 230 yards rushing, returning and receiving -- helped move the ball with a 17-yard reception. More than four minutes into the drive, Randle El scored on a one-yard run to tie the score. Sophomore place kicker Adam Braucher's point-after attempt was good, and the score was tied 7-7 going into the half.\nThe kicking woes that plagued IU at N.C. State haunted the Hoosiers. The first extra point was the only time Braucher split the goalposts. His first attempt was a 35-yard kick that went wide right with two minutes left in the first half. Braucher was unsuccessful in his next point-after attempt in the third quarter.\n"It's not about finger pointing, but (Braucher) didn't get it done and he knows that," Randle El said. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it, because you cannot sugarcoat something like that. We shouldn't have even been in those situations. Those plays got us beat today."\nKicking was a negative for a team that showed bright possibilities. Williams carried the ball 15 times, five more than against N.C. State, and ran one for a touchdown. On the Hoosiers' second scoring drive, Williams had a 48-yard carry to set up the touchdown. His play complemented Randle El, who was back in his familiar position.\nDespite the final Utah drive, the defense showed signs of improvement. But similar to last year, the defense was unable to make the important stops.\n"You play how you practice and today was a prime example of that," said senior linebacker Devin Schaffer.\n"Some guys who make critical mistakes in practice made the same mistakes today. Utah is a good team, but we made some unforced mistakes. We have to hold everyone accountable for their mistakes. This is Division 1 football, and if teams see you make a mistake, they're going to find a way to exploit it and that is what happened today"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Little League football said senior Levron Williams was too big to play running back. He was talented enough to play both offense and defense, but they would not let him carry the ball.\n"I was supposed to play running back the year I started to play, but they had a weight requirement I had to meet, and they said I was overweight," Williams, the Hoosiers starting running back, said. "I was kind of bigger than everyone else."\nWilliams said his future as a running back began in middle school.\n"I just showed them I could run the ball and they let me play running back," he said.\nThe idea to keep Williams, who towers at 6 foot 3 inches and 228 pounds, away from the ball is eerily similar to his lack of carries at the beginning of this season. But after being second string against N.C. State in the season opener, Williams has returned to the starting backfield for the Hoosiers. After two games, Williams' leads IU in rushing, with 119 yards on 20 attempts. \nWilliams' football career at IU began as a question mark when he fell just short of the required ACT score. He spent his freshman year as a non-qualifier, and was not allowed to participate.\nDespite sitting out the season before, Williams started five games in his first season on the football team, and played in nine total games. His play was hindered by a reoccurring ankle injury he suffered during a practice, but the injury did not stop him from averaging 9.3 yards per carry and 21.5 yards per catch.\n"I get water in my eyes and goose bumps when I think of how far Levron Williams has come," coach Cam Cameron said. "Everything that was said that he couldn't do, he's done. And again, he has to continue to improve. I take my hat off to him."\nWilliams, who spent most of the 1998-99 season at tailback and wide receiver, caught the ball for more than 100 yards against Ohio State. The Hoosiers open the Big Ten season against the Buckeyes this Saturday, a team they haven't faced since Williams' personal record-making game. \n"The last time I played them in '98, had a successful game," Williams said. "I will just come out on Saturday and work hard again." \nAfter an injury-plagued first year, Williams' second season at IU contrasts the 1999 season where he earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors. During his 2000 season, Williams rushed for a total of 821 yards, four more than his total the year before.\nCurrently in his senior season, Williams is less than 200 yards away from having 2,000 career rushing yards and 1,000 career receiving yards, which would make him the only player in Div. I football to accomplish this.\n"Levron is a great player, and when he puts his mind to it that he's going to go out and play well, he's going to play well," senior cornerback Sharrod Wallace said. "He does it in practice, so he's going to do it in the game as well."\nBut according to Williams, whose cousin is former IU basketball standout Calbert Chaeney, football is not his favorite sport to play. \nWilliams played on the basketball team at Bosse High School in Evansville, and in his senior year, he was awarded Player of the Year by the Evansville Courier .\n"I was a pretty good basketball player in high school," Williams said. "I actually like basketball more than football. I didn't look at my basketball offers in high school, so I didn't get the chance to explore that."\nAside from his general studies major, Williams takes classes in art, a hobby he began in elementary school. According to Williams, his favorite objects to draw are landscapes, human figures and cartoon characters.\nApart from his football skills that have made him arguably IU's second-most exciting player, Williams isn't sure he'll be remembered for anything but being a "funny guy." \n"Levron's a clown," junior tight end Kris Dielman said. "He works hard in practice, but he's goofy, and he likes to clown around a lot. He's pretty serious before the games, and when the game starts, you know he's ready to play"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
MADISON, Wis. - What a game. What a record-breaking, defense dominating, near-flawless game. \nIt's almost unexplainable, almost unbelievable, almost uncomprehendable how a winless IU football team traveled to Wisconsin and completely rolled over a 3-2 Badger team.\nAlmost being the key word. The Hoosiers went, they dominated, they stunned 79,264 spectators by whooping Wisconsin 63-32. To put that number in perspective, the last time an IU football team scored 63 points was in 1890. \n"I don't think it's the Lord that decides whether Wisconsin or Indiana that wins the game and I don't think he cares, but he really has blessed us with a group of kids that kept believing in us," coach Cam Cameron said. "I just think we are extremely blessed with the kind of kids we have on the team, and I know its been hard to try to convince you guys of that. I don't know why you didn't believe me, but today you can see some indications we have got a group of kids that haven't quit on us."\nBut the kind of performance the Hoosier team displayed Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium had fans and players alike shaking their heads.\nBecause how is it possible that the Wisconsin defense, ranked 16th in the nation and set-up to prevent the run, let senior running back Levron Williams rush for a career-high 280 yards and score a record-tying six touchdowns?\nNot only did Williams decimate the Badgers with a 51- and a 56-yard score, but with his six touchdowns he tied the record set by Michigan State's Blake Ezor in 1989 for the most touchdowns scored in a Big Ten game.\n"Oh my goodness. I came up to him and said 'Lev, man, you probably got 300 yards rushing,' and someone else said 'No, he's got 400,'" senior linebacker Justin Smith said. "He was just running through the middle, like untouched, and breaking through. He was running over people, and Levron's not a little guy. It's what we expect him to do. It was a lot of fun watching the offense get back to the way they were and it was a lot of fun on defense flying around."\nBut arguably more amazing then the show Williams put on was the defense against the Badgers. IU's defense, led by senior cornerback Sharrod Wallace, helped set the tone for the day when he broke up a pass on the first Wisconsin drive that led to a fourth down and a Hoosier possession.\nSenior quarterback Antwaan Randle El threw a 46-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Travis Haney to set up Williams' first touchdown run. From there, the Hoosiers could not be touched.\nTimewise, the Hoosiers did not need to dominate the clock to run up the score. At the end of the first quarter, IU's offense had scored four times, which took 11 plays and lasted just over two and a half minutes. 2:31 to be exact. \nThe fifth score during the first half came from a blocked Wisconsin punt the Hoosiers special teams returned for a touchdown. \n"I just wanted to keep going," Randle El said. "We were up 32-0, and I just wanted to keep going. Then they scored three points and I got upset. I kept telling our defense to just keep fighting, and we came in at halftime and we we were like, it's not over. Let's come out the second half and put forth the same effort and continue to put points on the board and not let up."\nThey didn't.\nGoing into halftime, the score was 42-17, and Cameron told his team in the locker room to act like the score was zero-zero. So the Hoosiers added 21 points to the Badgers' 15 in the third and fourth quarters.\nThe Hoosiers came up with its first interception of the season by sophomore cornerback Michael Hanley in the third quarter. By this time, IU already forced and recovered three fumbles.\n"(The defense was) flying around hitting people, causing fumbles, getting picks, and blocking punts," Smith said. "It felt good, because when you get one big play, it starts to snowball. When we got that first fumble in the first quarter and then we got another fumble and another one and blocked punt, a pick; they start coming once you get the first one. I've never had so much fun in a game." \nWilliams' yardage and Randle El's 102 rushing yards helped IU's total on the ground reach 449 yards. Randle El threw a first quarter touchdown that was the 36th of his career, breaking the Hoosier record for career touchdown passes of 35, while throwing for 182 yards in the game.\n"One thing I think we learned, is that no matter what the lead is, you have to go out there and make plays and be on the edge," Wallace said. "If (defense) does that, offense isn't going to change what they are doing. I feel good, because I think we played well on all three phases. But actually this win is over, and I'm worried about next week now"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Sometimes, 65th anniversaries are overlooked. They're not considered the milestones that 75th and 100th anniversaries are. But if IU defeats Iowa Saturday, the Hoosiers will return from their 65th match-up against the Hawkeyes with a big gift.\nA 2-2 record in an uncertain Big Ten where it is anyone's game.\nBoth the Hoosiers and the Hawkeyes are 1-2 in the conference, but with five teams ahead of them at 2-1, the standings in the Big Ten are all up in the air.\n"I think (a win is) pivotal," coach Cam Cameron said. "I've said that all year and this one has a capital 'P.' This is a pivotal, pivotal football game for this football team. \n"That is what makes this week so much fun. Going into a bye week, you have a chance to go in and play a very good football team in their own stadium...keep yourself in the thing. It won't be easy, I can guarantee you that."\nAside from the fact that the game is at Iowa's Kinnick Stadium, where the fans sit almost right on top of the players, Iowa is coming off two close road losses. \nLast Saturday, the Hawkeyes drew within three, but were defeated by Michigan State, and they lost to Purdue the week before. The Boilermakers won 23-14, but Iowa's defense allowed only one touchdown, two fieldgoals and a mere 217 yards total offense. \n"They'll come up and hit you," senior running back Levron Williams said. "They have veteran guys that are determined to make plays. Their defense is like number one in the Big Ten, but Wisconsin's defense was ranked high, too. We're just going to go all out and throw our bodies around." \nBut the the Hoosiers (1-4) do not face an ideal situation going into this game. Iowa (3-2) may have had two straight losses, but its defense continues to put up big numbers. On the ground, the Hawkeyes have given up only 64.3 yards per game.\nIU is coming off a heart-breaking loss after a heart-pounding win, and its offense was held to 194 yards on the ground.\n"They've improved defensively across the board," Cameron said. "I think (Penn State coach) Joe Paterno said it's probably the best defensive line they'll face all year long. They are solid across the defensive front and their secondary is better. I'm really impressed with their defense...the physicalness and the effort that they play with."\nIowa is also going to be attacking with a powerful offense. The Hawkeye quarterback, senior Kyle McCann, has completed 84 passes for 978 yards with eight touchdowns. Senior quarterback Antwaan Randle El, in five games, passed 54 times for 692 yards. But Randle El has also made less attempts than McCann.\nBoth Iowa and the Hoosiers have strong offensive threats. Williams had 133 yards against a similar Hawkeye defense last year, and this year has 981 all-purpose yards. The Hawkeyes will be unleashing senior wide receiver Kahlil Hill, who in the win against Penn State had a 76-yard kick return.\n "...Guys we are familiar with like Hill and (Ladell) Betts on the offensive side of the ball are dangerous, especially with Hill in the return game," Cameron said. "They're probably as good as a return team as we'll face."\n But starting out strong and keeping up intensity will be the main focus for the IU squad that lost to Illinois. But the playing conditions will be similar to what the Hoosiers faced in the blowout against Wisconsin.\nBitter cold, loud fans and a desperation for a win.\n"The feeling right now is that we are in a critical situation," senior wide receiver Henry Frazier said. "We must win against Iowa and come back 2-2 for the bye week. If you look at the Big Ten, everyone is good and everyone is still in it. We have to come out and play on the edge and we have to come out positive. I'm excited to go"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Familiarity is comforting, except when it's losing. And that's just what the Hoosiers did Saturday in Iowa City against the Hawkeyes.\nThey lost 42-28, in an all too familiar fashion. A dominant offense, an invisible defense.\nThe tone of the game was set a mere 1:45 seconds into the game when Iowa scored on a 75-yard touchdown run. The entire drive consisted of three plays, and from then out the Iowa offense scored on all but one possession in the first half.\n"I've got to look at the tape, because I am really surprised at the way we played defensively," coach Cam Cameron said. "I have to look at the tape. I really don't know what was happening totally from that perspective. We just never felt we had control of the thing from a defensive perspective at all. Why that happened is beyond me at this point."\nLess than two minutes before the half, the Hoosiers were trailing by a touchdown, and Iowa had the ball. Up to this point, Iowa (4-2, 2-2) had scored on four previous drives, the longest lasting 4:27 seconds and the shortest being a 12 second, 59-yard pass play.\nIt appeared the Hoosiers (1-5, 1-4) would go into the infamous pink locker room at Kinnick Stadium trailing by 14 points, but junior nickelback A.C. Carter intercepted Iowa quarterback Kyle McCann's pass, and returned it 10 yards. \nThe offense was in prime position to tie the score, but after picking up 20 yards to put the ball at the Hoosier 28-yard line, time was running out, and IU was forced to attempt a field goal. But sophomore kicker Adam Braucher's kick went wide and the Hoosiers were unable to capitalize on the only defensive stop of the first half.\n"I don't know," senior linebacker Devin Schaffer said. "It's sad. You spend a whole week preparing, and we had a great game plan, and then you don't go out and execute. I can't explain it. I can go look at the film and see what happened, maybe then I can explain it, but I don't understand why we would go out there and play like that today."\nThe defense had noticeably improved this season. Against Wisconsin and Ilinois, the defense was able to force turnovers and stop drives. But Iowa was able to expose weaknesses within the defense, specifically rush coverage.\nThe Hoosiers ended with 308 rushing yards, which was more than 70 more yards than the Hawkeyes, and IU had the ball more than 10 minutes longer than Iowa, but the defense was unable to close gaps to contain Iowa's powerful running back Ladell Betts, who rushed for 172 yards and one touchdown.\n"We knew he was an elusive runner and he was killing us today on the cutback," Schaffer said. "When you play against him you have to account for all the gaps because he has great vision. We knew that and we just didn't perform like we should have."\nAfter the opening Hawkeye score, the Hoosiers had to start their first drive at their own 2-yard line after senior running back Levron Williams stepped out of bounds on the kick-off return. After 14 plays that went 98 yards, Williams found the endzone, and Braucher, filling in for injured freshman kicker Bryan Robertson, made the point after. \nBut on the next possession, the Hawkeyes took only four minutes to answer back. \n"It was like a seesaw battle," senior quarterback Antwaan Randle El said. "When that happens you've got to continue to be a part of offense and score. We just continued to believe that the defense was going to give us a chance and get them stopped. They didn't play the way they wanted to. They didn't play well, but we had our chances."\nIn a game dominated by offense, it was the Hawkeyes who were able to pull ahead. Only twice did the Hoosiers not find the endzone following an Iowa score. \nThe IU defense came up with only two stops in the game, the interception at the end of the second quarter and a senior tackle Kemp Rasmussen pass break-up which forced the Hawkeyes to punt. But that stop didn't come until the end of the third quarter.\nTwo positives in the game were an improved kicking game that, aside from the missed field goal, made each point-after attempt, and an offense that ran 84 plays for 468 yards.\n"There's going to be no quit," Cameron said. "We're not buying into the hang-your-head-and-the-season-is-over. There's still a lot to play for, and you may not believe it, and that's fine. We believe it. We have to out and represent ourselves, so anytime you have to represent yourself, there's a lot to play for"