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(04/28/10 2:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Saturday’s Little 500 will go down as one of the best races of all time. It was beautiful. It was historic. It was magical.But that’s not to say there weren’t ugly moments.I’m not talking about the rain — that part made it the most fun. I’m also not talking about the crashes, which are bound to happen in any 200-lap race.I’m talking about the moment the Cutters took the podium, only to be booed by the remaining fans, most of whom were part of the greek system.I don’t blame them. All they saw were the reviled Cutters, the team people love to hate, claiming the title for the fourth consecutive year. They couldn’t possibly understand.They didn’t see what I saw.That day, behind the podium where the Cutters accepted their first-place trophy, there was another scene going on. IU Student Foundation members were preventing teams not in the top three from having their chance to stand on the podium. The reason? Race officials wanted to start breaking down the race equipment in the infield before the rain got heavier.Among the teams being denied their rightful place on the podium were Beta Theta Pi, Gray Goat Cycling and Sigma Chi.A police officer barred entry to the podium. Then, just as it seemed the teams would not get their moment, the Cutters stepped in.Clayton Feldman, team leader, walked right past the officer and called down to the other riders.“You’re all on our team,” he said. “Get up here.”There are a lot of people that feel animosity toward the Cutters. They are loathed for being a good team. They are hated for being “cocky.” They are disrespected because they aren’t greek — as are many other teams. The same can also be said for fans of independent teams and their feelings toward greek teams.The only ones that don’t seem to fall into that mindset are the riders themselves. They respect each other. They love each other. After all, when one rider goes down, it usually means a couple more go with him.A rider once described the major difference between cycling and a sport like basketball. In basketball, there is one winner and one loser in each game. In a race like the Little 500, there is one winner and 32 losers. However, that moment on Saturday, it was hard to say who won and who lost.So to those of you who booed the Cutters, to those of you who didn’t see the scene behind that podium, to those of you who think this race is us versus them, I have one question.What do you think of the Cutters now?
(04/26/10 2:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Seated between Phi Delta Theta and Beta Theta Pi, the Gray Goat fans screamed the names of their riders, drowning out the chants of the Betas and Phi Delts.“Ry-an Ki-el!”clap, clap, clap-clap-clap“Ma-att Ki-el!”clap, clap, clap-clap-clap“Bri-an Holt-house!”clap, clap, clap-clap-clap“Za-ach Trog-don!”clap, clap, clap-clap-clapWith half an hour to go until the scheduled 2 p.m. start of the race Saturday, the Gray Goat fans bickered with the opposing fans.“Who are you?” one Beta fan yelled to the fans of the third-year independent team.“No,” a woman screamed from the Gray Goat stands. “Who are you?”The taunting continued. Calls of “frat boys” and “GDI’s” were exchanged. Every chant was countered with another. With 25 minutes to go, voices were already getting hoarse.“Guys, it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” Brian Holthouse called from his training bike. “Remember that.”The tension built quickly. With forecasts predicting rain in the coming hours, race officials decided against the rider’s parade and rushed along the pre-race ceremony. Before Ryan Kiel headed to the start line to begin the race for his team, the Goats huddled up, grasping each other’s shoulders and tilting their heads toward the ground.Ryan Kiel walked toward his Schwinn while his brother Matt climbed back onto the training bike. This would be Matt Kiel’s last Little 500 as a rider. He is graduating in May from the Kelley School of Business. After four years as a rider, tens of thousands of miles on the bike, victories, failures and countless memories, it all came down to these 200 laps.Anything less than a first-place finish would be a disappointment.***Three years ago, Gray Goat Cycling didn’t exist.Matt and Ryan Kiel have ridden with each other for most of their lives. They rode competitively during their teenage years. So when Matt Kiel decided fraternity life wasn’t for him after riding for Kappa Sigma his freshman year, he knew he had someone to turn to — his younger brother, who would be attending IU in the coming year.In their first year together, the Kiels finished 12th, and in the following year, they came in ninth.This year, they returned all four riders from that ninth-place team and qualified third, placing them in the front row for the start of the race.But this year, it was all about Cutters.It was Cutters versus the field, the independent powerhouse versus the greek system.It was Cutters’ chance to make history and be the first team to win four consecutive races.It was Cutters who garnered the jeers from the mostly-Greek crowd, Cutters who took the pole position, Cutters who wore the yellow jersey.It was Cutters’ race to lose. Every other team was just an afterthought.The day before the race, Gray Goat sat on the porch of Zach Trogdon’s house. They discussed the race, their strategy, the possibility of bad weather — everything. All of a sudden, they said, it seemed a lot more “real.”The field, Matt Kiel said, was stronger than last year. Holthouse said they had a good shot if the race turned into, as he put it, “a ride of attrition.” All four of Gray Goat’s riders were strong. Not the strongest, but strong. And in a 200-lap race with very little room for error, it is often not the strongest, but the luckiest, who wins.***The pace car started creeping along the track at Bill Armstrong Stadium, leading the riders on their warm-up laps. As he passed the Gray Goat pit, Ryan Kiel nodded his head slightly, silently recognizing the reality before him. Clayton Feldman of the Cutters acknowledged his team’s fans, holding up four fingers as he rode by.On the final warmup lap, Ryan Kiel’s hands shifted from a grip on the inside of the handlebars to the outside. He bent at the waist, leaned in toward the front of the bike. The pace began to pick up, as did the noise level.He reached turn two. His legs quickened. The cheers escalated. He hit turn three and rounded turn four, accelerating into the first straightaway.The fence separating the fans from the track shook. Ryan Kiel’s legs pumped, harder and harder, pounding down on the pedals. The screams reached a fever pitch, drowning out all possibility of thought.Finally, the green flag waved.***Matt Kiel’s predictions came true. At lap four, the pace of the pack picked up considerably, and teams started falling off the lead wheel. Ryan Kiel keeps with the head group, sliding in and out of the front of the pack, drafting and pulling. After a crash behind him in lap eight, Ryan Kiel gets caught on the inside of the track — a dangerous position in the early laps, when less-experienced teams are still hanging on to the front wheel.“Tell him to move up,” Matt Kiel yelled to his student coach, Josh Novick.Novick held up a green, rectangular sign. “Elephant,” it read — one of the Goat’s code words. Ryan Kiel saw the sign as he passed the pit, and he nodded. He pulled out of the pack, surged ahead and began what is called a “burn,” or a sprint lap before making an exchange. Riders do this to make sure the rider taking the exchange has time to accelerate and keep with the lead group.On lap 15, Gray Goat made its first exchange. Ryan Kiel flew in ahead of the lead group, pressing back on the pedal to brake just a few feet from Trogdon, who was receiving the exchange. As Ryan Kiel slides onto his training bike, coach Kim Gerbers placed a bag of ice on his neck and covered it with a towel. He grabbed a Gu Energy Gel pack and settled into the saddle of his training bike. He has done his job for now.“That’s exactly what we want,” Matt Kiel said.As the race went on, the lead pack became smaller, but Gray Goat stayed with it. The speed made mistakes nearly impossible to overcome. And on lap 62, Gray Goat made a costly one. As Trogdon handed off an exchange to Matt Kiel, the bike slipped and crashed to the ground. Although Matt Kiel quickly picked up the bike and tried to catch up, the team was now more than half a lap behind the lead team, Phi Delta Theta. Seven laps later, Trogdon leaped back onto the bike, still a half lap down.***The team switched its strategy, putting in quick, sprinting sets on the bike in an attempt to grab hold of the lead wheel.“Don’t get discouraged,” a lap timer for Gray Goat said to Matt Kiel. “You got this.”On lap 78, something changed. The pace of the lead pack slowed. Gray Goat had a chance to catch up.Ryan Kiel seized the opportunity, picking up his pace and getting the Goats within a quarter of a lap of the lead. Trogdon got on the bike at lap 81 and caught the pack.Then, on lap 82, something else changed. A slight drizzle started. A fan pointed toward the sky to the left of the pit.There, hanging above, were clouds dark as the cinders of the track.Unless conditions became extremely poor or lightning is in the area, the race would continue. However, if the race was more than halfway over and conditions became too dangerous for racing, the team in front when the race ended would be declared the winner.Those drizzles on lap 82 brought with them a shift in strategy for all of the teams on the lead lap. It wasn’t a matter of if it would pour. It was a matter of when. That meant no more drafting. No more pack riding. No more mistakes.This was a race against the weather. And the race was on.On lap 89, the sky opened up and the atmosphere around the stadium soared. Fans danced, shouted, cheered for the rain. And despite the downpour, despite the cinders kicking up into his teeth and glasses, on lap 93, Matt Kiel picked up the pace. He has to. This could be it.Cutters started to pull away, gaining a half-lap lead by lap 100. Trogdon took the bike and sprinted to catch up. At lap 104, though, the race official near the finish line waved a red flag, signaling the race had been suspended because of inclement weather. The drizzle became a torrential downpour. Cutters, in an unceremonious fashion, won.Then, the chants began.“Let them race! Let them race! Let them race!”The Goats urged the fans on, waving their arms in the air, imploring them to keep the moment going. Not that they needed to. The stadium was echoing with boos.The far side of the stadium away from the finish line cleared as fans left. But the fans on the Gray Goat side remained. They refused to leave. They continued to chant. A boom of thunder and crash of lightning brought their roars to a new high.Ryan Kiel rose his arms to the sky. Trogdon and Holthouse couldn’t help but smile. And Matt Kiel, wrapped in windbreakers, laughed, lips quivering from the cold.Finally, at 3:53 p.m., they were rewarded. The announcement played over the speakers:“The race will resume in 20 minutes.”With that, the crowd exploded in applause and cheers.The pace car took to the track again, leading the riders around the track once. The teams had their fastest riders on the track. They knew they won’t get a second delay.“When it goes green, it’s gonna be a dead sprint,” Novick said.After five laps under caution, the green flag waved again. And, once again, the rain picked up.The fans cheered, and “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC played over the loudspeakers. As they sang along, it became clear nothing could stop this race. Cutters, which was a half lap up on lap 104, would have to start single-file, bike-to-bike, with the rest of the field behind. Gray Goat, along with all of the other teams on the lead lap, was suddenly within feet of being in front. The race would go on, and nothing could quell the excitement of the restart.Let it rain.***Matt Kiel was nearly in tears from pain when he got off the bike on lap 143, and the weather was wearing on the Goats, just as it was on every other team. Gray Goat was starting to fall behind when, on lap 185, the team made a tactical decision. Trogdon, their sprinter, spoke with Gerbers. She looked to Ryan Kiel.“Do you want to finish?” she asked.Ryan Kiel replied with a nod. Then, Trogdon headed away from the pit to take what would have been the younger Kiel’s exchange.Trogdon sprinted ahead, desperately trying to catch the lead group, which was nearly half a lap ahead. By lap 191, when Trogdon exchanged with Ryan Kiel, it looked as if there is no way for Gray Goat to get back into contention.Then, a voice from the left of the pit shouted.“Holy shit!”***Ryan Kiel is not a sprinter — he admits that much. He finished 33rd in Individual Time Trials. He was not supposed to be in the situation he was in, grinding against the rain to try to catch the lead leg of the race.That’s how it worked out, though. At that point, it was all or nothing. He grabbed the bike. He buried his head. He gritted his teeth, covered in refuse from the track. He sprinted.He caught them.***On lap 193, Ryan Kiel rode by his pit, right alongside the Cutters’ Feldman. They looked at each other and smiled.On lap 195, Ryan Kiel came in for an exchange — the final one of the race for Gray Goat. It also happened to be the final exchange Matt Kiel will take as a student at IU. For the first time in this race, the brothers completed an exchange together.***Matt Kiel battled to keep with the front group, but, in the end, Eric Young of Cutters proved he was the fastest in the field. Cutters won its fourth consecutive championship, with Gray Goat finishing sixth.After Matt Kiel reached his pit, completely exhausted, he did the first thing that came to his mind.He stepped off of the bike, walked toward his brother, and they hugged.A lot is made of the independent versus greek conflict in the Little 500. As the Cutters accepted their trophies and took the podium, they accepted the jeers of the fans. Behind the podium, there was a different scene.Beta, Gray Goat and Sigma Chi awaited accepting their trophies, only to be ushered away from the podium by members of the IU Student Foundation. The race officials had decided to cut ceremonies short because of the onset of more rain.As the Beta riders begin to walk away, Ryan Kiel called after them.“No,” he said. “We’re going up there.”“I don’t know what to tell you,” an IU Student Foundation worker said.A policeman walked over, blocking the stage. Then, Feldman came down the steps.Ryan Kiel spoke with Feldman to the side of the podium. Then, Feldman climbed the steps of it once again.He turned back toward the officer and the riders.“You’re all on our team,” Feldman said. “Get up here.” The officer looked at him and let the Betas, Gray Goat and Sigma Chi pass. They stood on that podium, arms around one another, as if they were all Kiel’s. Matt and Ryan couldn’t help but smile.***After the race, Matt Kiel was shivering from the cold — he was so chilled he could not control his tremors. He needed something to keep him warm.“Ride home,” Novick suggested.So Matt Kiel hopped on his bike, and, as the rain came down, he did what he’s done for nearly his entire life.He rode.
(04/21/10 12:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Although last year’s Little 500 race was perhaps one of the greatest sporting events I’ve ever witnessed, I can’t pinpoint when it was I realized that.I’m not sure what the worst part of last year’s Little 500 race was.Trying to maintain the IDS live chat for the men’s race, which 367 readers logged into from across the nation and posted 578 comments on (not including the ones I didn’t allow) rates pretty high up there. Having every sorority and fraternity chant drilled into my brain is definitely in the top five. The horrible wireless connection, my computer dying and the sunburn that turned the back of my neck tomato-red surely factor in.I’m not sure what the best part of the race was, either.Caroline Brown of Pi Beta Phi riding 70-plus laps in a Herculean effort to bring the sorority its first Little 500 victory. Cutters, led by Clayton Feldman, battling back from a half-lap deficit to win the race on Eric Young’s splendid last-lap sprint. Hearing the cheers as the fans rushed onto the track to follow their team for its victory lap.All I know is that somewhere between the 4:36 p.m. start of last year’s women’s race and the 4:50 p.m. finish of the men’s race a day later, magic happened.I could bring up watching Stefani Puaca of Wing It, who had mono during the race, leap onto the bike in an effort to bring her team back into the lead pack.I could talk about a rider from Vicious & Delicious who suffered a brain hemorrhage and a skull fracture, yet was there on race day, working as a mechanic.I could tell you about the picture of Matt Neibler of Delta Tau Delta, leaping into the crowd to celebrate his team’s second-place finish in last year’s race.I could help you relive that final lap, the chills I get even now looking back on that third-straight Cutters victory.I could mention seeing a member of Phi Delta Theta crying after a disappointing finish. After several crashes during the race, the team finished two laps down of Cutters.I’ve seen tears, heard cheers and smelled beer ... lots of it. I’ve been in the inside the track, outside the track, above the track and almost run over on the track. Those cinders, while not buried under the skin of my legs (as they are in most riders), have become a part of my heart.This is more than a bike race; just as the Super Bowl is more than a football game; just as the final day of The Masters is more than a round of golf; and just as the Olympic games are more than a gathering of countries trying to collect circular medals.This race is beautiful. It is ugly. It is glorious. It is atrocious. As one rider told me, in a basketball game, there is one winner and there is one loser. In the Little 500, there is one winner and there are 32 losers on each side, not counting the teams that failed to qualify.For a whole year, the riders (the serious ones, anyway) basically take on the commitment of a varsity sport without the scholarships, free textbooks or other perks that come with being a letterman. Their grades suffer, their bodies suffer and their nerves build.It’s all for one day. For one shot at glory. In pretty much any other sport, you can make a mistake in a game and come out the next day to make up for it in some way. There are 162 games in a baseball season, and, if you’re a Cubs fan like me, you know there’s always next year. As a Little 500 rider, you get one shot a year, and, if you’re a senior like some of the riders are, there is no such thing as a second chance.This is the essence of sports at its finest. There is no big money on the line. There are no contracts, no breaks for the athletes, no real motivations for riding other than the ability to have that conversation with their kids one day:“Son, that’s me in that picture riding in the Little 500. We won that year.”A blank stare. “What’s that?”And then, once more, the magic happens.
(04/13/10 12:46am)
When Tijan left Gambia six years ago to shoot hoops in the United States, he knew he wouldn’t have the chance to help his mother through an illness that had been ailing her for more than five years. In January, his brothers left him a voicemail with difficult news: his mother had passed away. He hadn’t seen her since he left home in 2004. A few weeks later, we asked him how he coped with the loss.
(04/13/10 12:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>My grandfather never went to the Wall. A Vietnam War veteran, he never pressed his hand to the black granite monument and felt the grooved indents of 58,261 names. He couldn’t bring himself to do it, so I did it for him. I drove 650 miles to confront the loss – his and mine.On the day of my grandfather’s death last March, I didn’t cry. I didn’t cry the next day. Or the next. Or even once I got home.The day of his funeral, what struck me as I stood in his room was the painting on the wall. Painted by Lee Teter, “Reflections” depicts a man pressing his hand to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, eyes cast down in remembrance. But it is not his reflection that stands out. It is the reflection of his fallen friends reaching out, touching his palm, and sending him life that catches my eye.It was with “Reflections” in mind that my family, friend, and I began the 12-hour trip to Washington. The ride was full of memories of good times and how Papa changed our lives.He was about to do so again.***The signs tell the story.“In Honor of Those Who ServedPlease stay on the sidewalks.”From the moment you spot the monument to the time you reach the start of the names, at the fourth slate of smooth black granite on either side, you know this is more than a wall. It is more than a representation of the Vietnam War.I’ve never been on a battlefield, but this is what I imagine hallowed ground feels like.The Vietnam War had roots back to the mid-1950s, but U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s. The number of U.S. troops peaked at 500,000 in 1968. Now, more than 40 years later, a wall with more than 50,000 names etched into its surface cuts along the grass in our capital. It is a tribute to every man and woman killed, injured, or taken prisoner in the war. But veterans know it holds a greater meaning.“It’s also, as the designer intended, a place of healing,” says a veteran working at the Wall. “Much of the Wall symbolizes a cut in the earth, and the grass growing up to it is healing that scar that was very divisive – the war was that scar that divided our country during that period. It is a place to come and accept death. While I don’t like it, I can accept it.”***As I approached the Wall, I had a plan. Pick one spot. Walk up. Touch it. Remember.It was the only thing I could think of. That print of “Reflections” in my grandpa’s back room was always the way I saw him doing it if he went.I walked down the pathway toward the Wall. When I reached the beginning of the granite, I hesitated. Could I do this? I steeled myself. I closed my eyes.Breathe in. Breathe out.I gathered myself and headed to the right side of the path. I spotted a man heading toward the monument and followed in his steps. The first four black slates had nothing on them. On the fifth, the names began. I walked slowly toward the center of the monument. I read each name, taking in the chiselled letters. Then, my eyes and feet moved more quickly. It was as if I was searching for the something. The right spot. A place to stop and honor him.I found it about halfway down the first half of the Wall, along the walkway closest to the Lincoln Memorial. I stopped. This was it. It was time to remember.I could sense him there. I could smell his Kenneth Cole cologne. I could picture his mischievous grin, a testament to his refusal to let age bring on maturity. I could feel his vein-covered, sun-darkened skin, as I did in the days before he passed. He was there. I knew it. I had brought him with me to the place he’d never gone.The other visitors stopped. The world stopped. Everything stopped.Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.I reached forward with my right hand, just like in the painting. I looked down to my sneakers, the bottom of the Wall still in view. I felt the cool stone.As I held my breath, something left me. All the pain, doubt, and sadness I carried with me flowed through my fingertips and into the monument. This scar in the earth brought me peace. It was more than just the Wall, though. It was him. In my head, I said something I’d said countless times before — but I had never meant it like I did at that moment.“Thank you, Papa.”***Moments like this are the reason people come to the Wall. They do not see themselves. They do not see names. They see people. They see memories. They see life.I saw my grandpa.The experience of reaching out with a hand — reaching slowly and touching a name — lets us take a moment to reconnect with the one we miss, the one we care about. Whether on a tour or on a journey, whether seeking a meaningful experience or seeking a name, the Vietnam Memorial Wall draws people. It stands as a place where people are quiet, respectful, and reverent. These are, after all, the names of men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure others wouldn’t have to.“Many people come down here in sorrow, and I certainly understand that,” a veteran told me. “But a little laughter can go on, too, as we remember the joviality of those people — how wonderful and young and bright they were.”The Wall might not move. It might not breathe. It might not have a life of its own. But the people behind it, the people it represents they do. There is not one central heartbeat to the Wall, or one soul, or one face. There are 58,261 of each, calling from beyond those granite slabs and reaching out to the people who will come to see them. They only seek one thing from those who come to visit their sanctuary. It is not to stay off the grass. It is not to keep the noise down. It is simply this: “Remember me,” they ask. “Remember us.”
(04/06/10 5:20am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As Butler’s sophomore forward Gordon Hayward walked away from the scene behind him, Duke players diving on top of each other in a pile just feet from where he missed a last-second shot, he knew his team’s historic Final Four run was over.Of course, a 61-59 loss for his Bulldogs was not the way he’d wanted it to end.“I hate losing,” Hayward said. “It’s one of the worst feelings that I have — losing. When I look back on it, I think it’s going to motivate me.”The pace of the game was frantic. The defense, at times, was sparse. Hayward, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, posted only 4 points in the first half, while senior forward Avery Jukes exceeded his season high for points in that period alone with 10.Butler struggled to maintain that breakneck speed, firing off 3-pointers and scrambling for offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils fought for consistency, with senior center Brian Zoubek slowly backing down his defender in the paint and purposeful ball movement from the entire squad.But for every slow, steady, consistent shot Duke made, the Bulldogs found a way to nip back at their opponents’ heels.The trend continued in the second half. Every open look the Blue Devils hit was countered with a hard-fought basket. And as the lead swayed back and forth, the Bulldogs looked more and more like the team Stevens expected to see that night.“It was obviously a physical game,” Hayward said. “I feel like we pretty much left it all out there.”But just as the game seemed to turn, it stopped. The pace slowed. The scoring died down. And, in the end, the game Butler had wanted to play from the beginning, its earnest effort to win “The Butler Way,” caused the Bulldogs to lose what had kept them close against Duke — raw emotion.The Bulldogs started to falter, failing to fire back at the Blue Devils. They didn’t make a shot from the floor from the 9:30 mark until the final minute of the game, fighting to stay in the game by way of foul shots. Somehow, at the end of their scoring drought, they were only down by three points.One minute remained. Bulldog forward Matt Howard battled down low, getting position on Zoubek for an easy layup. And, all of a sudden, the field-goal percentage didn’t matter. The underdog moniker didn’t matter. All that mattered was the 33.7 seconds left on the clock.It was the Bulldogs’ ball. They were down one.Butler passed the ball around the perimeter, looking for a chance to penetrate the lane and put itself ahead for the first time since the 13:35 mark.Zoubek tipped a pass out of bounds, and Stevens called a timeout. On the first attempt at the inbounds play, nothing was open. Hayward took another timeout for his team.Thirteen seconds remained.Hawyard got the ball off of the inbounds play. He drove to his right, fighting toward the center of the court. He backed down his defender, then stepped off.The fadeaway shot went up. Hayward watched it go. And he watched it as it hit the rim, bounced off and fell into the hands of Zoubek. As Stevens said, “It looked good all the way.”“They played good defense and forced me into a tough shot,” Hayward said. “I thought it was a good shot for us — I just missed it long.“It felt good. Looked good. It just wasn’t there. “A few seconds later, after Hayward missed a last-second effort that bounced off the backboard and clanked off the rim, it was over.“There’s not much to say from our end,” Stevens said. “We just came up one possession short in a game with about 145 possessions. It’s hard to stomach when you’re on the wrong end of that.”
(04/05/10 4:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In 2004, Tijan Jobe came to the United States to play basketball, leaving behind his family in pursuit of his dream.Six years later, he stood in Assembly Hall, doing something he never could have imagined when he first reached the States — catching the tip-off during his final game for the Hoosiers.“This has meant a lot to me,” he said. “It gave me an opportunity to have my education ... and play basketball at the highest level.”It was Jobe’s first start in a regular season game. It would also be his last. But, as fellow Indiana Daily Student columnist Jordan Cohen said on that fateful day, “Tijan can’t be defined by numbers.”It is impossible to explain what Jobe means to fans through his statistics. In his time at IU, Jobe hit seven shots, recorded 40 fouls, made one free throw and blocked six shots. Statistically, he wasn’t a major player for the Hoosiers.It was the emotion that came with him that made all the difference. No matter what he did, fans adored Jobe. He was their player. And he quickly became the face of the early stage of IU coach Tom Crean’s rebuilding era.“That’s every player’s dream,” Jobe said. “I’m really thankful for the fans that came out and supported us every day.”By no means did Jobe do anything spectacular during the 44 games he played for IU. But, in the eyes of fans, he didn’t do anything wrong, either. His fouls elicited chuckles. His rebounds and blocks brought on chants of “Ti-jan Jo-obe! clap clap, clap-clap-clap.” His dunk against Penn State in last year’s Big Ten Tournament tore the roof off of Conseco Fieldhouse.In the end, the Hoosier faithful loved every one of the 211 minutes Jobe played.Jobe also quickly connected to his teammates. He said his happiest moments at IU were spent with them.“I still come in the locker room,” Jobe said. “I talk with them. I laugh with them. After practice, we’d stick together.”But the good did not come without the bad. Earlier this year, Jobe’s mother died. He explained he was unable to make the trip home for the funeral because of the nature of his culture, where the dead are buried within a day of passing.His teammates rallied around him, and at that point, more than ever, Jobe knew he belonged.Now, finally, Jobe has his chance to go home. After six years, he will return to The Gambia to see his family.“It’s been a long time since I’ve been there,” he said.From then on, his future is uncertain. Jobe said he would like to pursue graduate school but is leaving his options open.One thing is certain, though — he will be back. And the cheers that came in his time on the court will echo through Assembly Hall once again, just as they did before he gave his senior speech.“We’re the ones that started the Tom Crean era,” Jobe said. “I see this program going in a good direction because Coach is building a good foundation.“I’m always going to be a Hoosier. I’m still going to be here.”And, just as before, IU fans will be more than happy to have him.
(03/24/10 3:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU baseball coach Tracy Smith said baseball is a game of consistency — both in play and preparation.That’s why he’s trying to keep his team away from “superhuman, extra-special stuff” against Xavier in its home opening game at Sembower Field today.“I just think it gives the guys a high energy level,” Smith said. “It’s a different feel ... You come out and play the game like it’s supposed to be played, but I know we have a lot of young guys on this team.” With a 9-10 record this year in matchups across the U.S., the Hoosiers should be looking forward to playing on their home turf. IU went 12-7 at home last season, and so far this year it is 1-6 in true away games. Seeing the stands filled with fans donning cream and crimson will be a refreshing sight for this road-weary squad.“We had some home games last year that really felt like home games,” sophomore pitcher Blake Monar said.Monar and senior outfielder Mike Earley said they are not sure what to expect from their first home contest in terms of the crowd but that they wouldn’t be far off if they said it would be a high-energy atmosphere.Hoosier fans have a lot to look forward to. IU won the Big Ten Championship last year, and this year’s offense is just as potent as last year’s with sophomore Alex Dickerson and freshman Micah Johnson leading the way with 8 and 6 home runs, respectively. And don’t forget about Jerrud Sabourin, the potent junior first-baseman-turned-pitcher who leads the team with a batting average better than .400.And while Xavier is not looking nearly as good as the Hoosiers have this season (the Musketeers have a team batting average worse than .250), that’s no reason to believe the former Atlantic 10 champions won’t put up a fight.“They’re always a pretty solid team,” Monar said. “They’re going to give us a game. It’s going to be a battle there.”Though there’s a slight chance of rain today, there should be nothing stopping the Hoosier faithful from being out in force. Bring a poncho, bring some popcorn and get ready for the show.“We’ve got a really exciting team this year,” Earley said. “You never know what can happen.”
(03/22/10 2:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For Hoosier fans, March Madness has taken on a different meaning.It’s not about the NCAA tournament any more, and it probably won’t be for another couple of years. Instead, Hoosier Hysteria has been funneled into the recruiting scene, and one name in particular is quickly becoming the first of every IU fan’s lips.Moses Abraham is a tall young man at 6 feet 9 inches, but this Nigeria native has become larger than life in the eyes of the Hoosier faithful. A four-star recruit on Rivals, Abraham has become the focal point of a lot of talk in the sports blogs, message boards and the backs of fans’ minds.Abraham was supposed to make his decision on Selection Sunday at midnight, after meeting with his mentor from Nigeria. While waiting for that decision to come, I drank seven cups of coffee, had conversations with several other members of the media via Twitter, watched as the number of people on the Rivals message board climbed to over 1,500, watched as that number dwindled under 500 for the first time (around 2 a.m.) and then went to sleep at 3 a.m. Obviously, no decision came that night.Next came news that Abraham might be making his decision at 7 p.m. the next day. As I settled down with my computer and some delicious Mexican food from a restaurant back home, I thought about the implications of the night before.Last year, IU coach Tom Crean brought in three four-star recruits (IU freshmen Maurice Creek, Christian Watford and Derek Elston) and three three-star recruits (Bobby Capobianco, Jordan Hulls and Bawa Muniru), giving him the No. 8 recruiting class in the nation. This year, he has signed two players — Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey. Neither crack the top 125 players in the nation, while last year only one player (Capobianco) was unable to do so. There is no comparison to last year’s class — with or without Abraham.Maybe that is one of the reasons IU fans are so excited about the possibility of Abraham’s commitment. While this recruiting class is by no means weak, it isn’t strong by the standards of past IU classes. After all, as Crean often says, “It’s Indiana.”That’s what is making the choice so hard for Abraham. The fact that this is, in fact, Indiana — and that he could be one of the members of “The Next Generation” to help bring IU back to the forefront — is appealing to him.Crean is also making a hard sell for the Hoosiers. Meetings with Abraham’s guardian Joe Boncore that Sunday night and with Abraham on Tuesday have caused him to delay his decision until he has visited Bloomington. That visit is slated for this Tuesday.Something tells me that without Crean, Abraham would have committed to Georgetown, the other school high on his list, on that Sunday night. For IU to compete for the services of someone new to the country with the Hoyas, a team that made the NCAA tournament this year and began speaking to Abraham almost as soon as he reached the States, is in and of itself impressive.Not that IU fans will care if they’re second to Georgetown when it comes time for Abraham to make a decision. If Crean fails to reel him in, this class will be the second-worst since Rivals started rating recruits online and the worst of Crean’s short tenure.Still, this amount of pandemonium is unacceptable.Simple rules for IU basketball fans:1. Don’t rush the court. Period.2. Never mention a man whose name rhymes with Melvin Hampson.3. Don’t get this drawn into the hype surrounding a four-star recruit. IU is a five-star school. We can — and have — done better.Regardless of whether or not IU lands Abraham, this team will be a contender in the coming years. The 2011-12 classes are bursting with talent interested in IU, top-tier players who haven’t even come close to reaching their ceiling.Abraham is a good player. He rebounds well, can score and is an athletic defender and shot-blocker. But by no means is he the end-all-be-all of IU basketball, even in these desperate times.Fans need to remember: “It’s Indiana.” Now it’s time to act like it.
(03/09/10 3:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Looking for the ultimate IU road trip for your spring break? Here’s a list of the top destinations for Hoosier Olympic sports, taking you across the nation and back to Bloomington just in time for classes.1. Track and fieldWhere Fayetteville, Ark.When March 13More info Take part in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships and watch the No. 10 men’s team and No. 20 women’s team compete. The teams have been performing above and beyond expectations this year, and high-fliers Derek Drouin and Ashley Rhoades are more than worth watching.2. Baseball Where Winter Haven, Fla.When March 14More info Head down to the Sunshine State to watch the IU baseball team battle Central Michigan at Chain O’Lakes Stadium. With junior Jerrud Sabourin at the plate (and, most recently, on the mound) and a heavy-hitting lineup, the Hoosiers offer some of the most exciting collegiate baseball you could hope to see.3. DivingWhere West LafayetteWhen March 15More info I’d generally tell you to avoid this region of the U.S., especially over a break, but the NCAA Zone Diving Championships are too good to miss, especially given the strength of IU’s diving team.4. TennisWhere Orlando, Fla.When March 17More info Didn’t get enough Florida sun the first time? Then it’s time to head back across the nation and watch the men’s tennis team in a double-header against Central Florida and Farleigh Dickinson. This team is on a streak and has performed well against top competition. 5. WrestlingWhere Omaha, Neb.When March 18-20More info This is the granddaddy of them all — the NCAA Championships for wrestling. IU is currently No. 13 in the nation and has at least four wrestlers heading to Omaha and possibly more with at-large bids still undecided.6. SoftballWhere BloomingtonWhen March 21More info Time to get back to B-Town. Relax on the final day of your break by watching IU’s softball team take on Central Michigan, then get ready for classes again.
(03/03/10 4:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>By the end of the 2009 season, the IU football team had only won one more game than it had in the previous year, going 4-8.The team lost to Purdue again. It finished at the bottom of the Big Ten again. It was the second-worst team in at-home attendance in the Big Ten again.But maybe that last fact isn’t as clear-cut as it seems. Home attendance increased by an average of more than 10,051 fans per game, the third-largest increase in the nation. And while the Hoosiers might not have put on the show those 10,000-plus people were looking for, it’s a definite that students are buying in to the upside of the program and the changes IU Athletics Director Fred Glass has made since taking the reins of the department.“The main thing that happened is we didn’t accept conventional wisdom,” Glass said in an interview.IU was the only Big Ten school to rank among the top-30 of Division I schools in the one-year percentage increase category. Its average attendance increased from 31,782 in 2008 to 41,833 in 2009. IU also sold out an expanded student section twice — once against Ohio State (11,000 seats) and again against Purdue (15,200 seats).“The students are the key to the whole thing,” Glass said. “They bring the energy to the stadium. It makes it fun for the students, but it makes it fun for the non-students, too.”Glass has taken all the right steps in trying to make football more accessible to fans and more attractive to those looking to visit Memorial Stadium. The North End Zone facility, while not conceived by him, was spearheaded and crafted into something much bigger. He constantly talks about the “game-day experience” and what that means for the fan. He got it right this past season and the figures show that. People actually enjoyed going to games, even if the Hoosiers weren’t winning. They enjoyed the atmosphere. They enjoyed Glass walking through the stadium and thanking everyone for being in attendance.It’s a tiring process — trust me, I walked it with him. But if this is the result, it’s definitely worth every step.“It’s even more encouraging that we’re on the right track,” Glass said. “Engaging with the students is definitely important.”There’s even more set in place for the future. IU Athletics has released a new, interactive system where season ticket holders can pick their seats based on a priority points system on IUHoosiers.com. The schedules for the coming three years are also posted, so as to give Hoosier fans time to prepare for trips. IU faculty and staff have been offered a 10-percent discount on season tickets to see IU in action. The integration, the fan-friendly atmosphere, the accessibility — all of it goes a long way toward packing “The Rock.” And packing “The Rock” means padding the pocketbook of the department.The math is simple. More money means better facilities. Better facilities draw better recruits. Better recruits bring more success. More success drives attendance. And more attendance, of course, means more money.Even though the department only met its budget this past season, it did so during tough economic times and in the face of a decrease in ticket prices for students that was not planned for when the budget was set.“I’m much more interested in attendance than I am revenue,” Glass said. “If they come and have fun on a discounted ticket, they might come back and buy a season ticket for full price.”More than 10,000 fans don’t lie — there’s something great going on within the department. The days of everything north of 17th Street staying there are over. And the actions of Glass and Co. have given fans something to get excited about.The one nagging question is how to improve from here; how to keep driving attendance and making sure all the hoopla and fanfare doesn’t get old. Glass is forming a 15-student advisory council to help brainstorm how to make the game-day experience the best it can be in the future.And for Glass, that’s the fun part.“We’ve got a good platform for next year,” Glass said. “I don’t think we’re too far away from being sold out every game.”There’s no way to predict how the implementation of these plans will take hold with Hoosier fans, if they will at all. At this point, there are only a few certainties.There will be successes. There will be failures. And no matter what, if you follow IU, you’re in for one hell of a ride.
(02/24/10 3:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU coach Lin Loring’s women’s tennis team was looking for a jolt
heading into the Big Ten season as it got ready to face No. 10
Tennessee on Sunday.
“You can tell that teams are good and that they have potential, but
until they do something, they’ll never believe you,” Loring said of his
players.
They definitely did something against the Lady Vols — and sent a
message to their in-conference foes — that day, with a 6-1 win against
one of the perennial powers in the Southeastern Conference.
“It got us really pumped up because we’re about to start our Big Ten
season,” senior captain Lindsey Stuckey said. “Knowing that we are
competitive with these big teams and we can compete at the top of the
top really helps us going into the Big Ten matches, because they’re
really strong this year.”
Strong is a bit of an understatement when you think of the competition
within the Big Ten this year. With Northwestern currently at the No. 2
spot, Michigan at No. 8 and Ohio State at No. 17, this conference has a
lot of stiff competition for the Hoosiers. Loring said the Big Ten
could very well send six or seven teams to the NCAA Tournament this
season.
The preparation for their difficult in-conference schedule has been
helped along with a tough grouping of out-of-conference opponents,
including No. 6 Duke, No. 22 DePaul, No. 63 Kentucky and No. 70 Wake
Forest. The Hoosiers also have a final ranked foe in No. 7 Notre Dame
before heading into Big Ten play.
“It’s very nice because you play some very good matches,” said freshman
Leslie Hureau, the current Big Ten Athlete of the Week. “You have to be
at your best level to beat them or at least to compete against them.”
And in Big Ten matches, Loring said the team must do exactly what it
did against Tennessee — compete in every match, and not give away
“cheap points.”
“We have to have everybody show up every day,” he said. “There’s a lot
of teams in the top 20 that, if just half the team plays good, they can
win. We’re not that good.”
Stuckey said she told her team she wanted to beat Tennessee once in her
four years at IU. She got her wish. Now, she has a bigger goal —
getting the Hoosiers back to the top of the Big Ten.
“We can get back up there,” she said. “I think we’re just as good as some of those other teams.”
And it can only get better from here. With six players returning next
season, this team stands a chance to crack the top-10 in coming years.
They are currently No. 23 in the nation.
“The future looks really bright,” Loring said. “It’s certainly a base
we can build on and it will certainly help recruiting, showing that we
can compete up there with the best teams in the country.”
Being able to compete and win has given this team the extra boost it
needs heading into the Big Ten season. And with the statement they made
against the Volunteers on Sunday, even top-tier teams must be feeling a
twinge of uneasiness.
That jolt the Hoosiers were searching for has sent ripples through not
only the conference, but the nation. Now, it’s time to capitalize on it
.
Don’t be surprised if a few more teams get shocked.
(02/23/10 3:25am)
1. “Warp 1.9” by The Bloody Beetroots featuring Steve Aoki
(02/23/10 3:25am)
Why did you start spinning?
(02/18/10 12:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There is one certainty amongst the rumors of Big Ten expansion across the nation and, in particular, the blog-o-sphere — while very few officials are willing to talk about the possibility, many are willing to listen.Why wouldn’t they be? With an average income from television revenue of $242 million and every football and men’s basketball game via the growth of the Big Ten Network now available — in more than 75 million homes and in 19 of the nation’s top-20 media markets — there is much to be earned by any program hoping to become the Big Ten’s 12th member.IU Athletics Director Fred Glass said the Big Ten is in a good position because of its deals with media outlets and visibility in the national scene. As he put it, conference leaders don’t have to seek out institutions because those programs will come to them.Big 12 universities such as Missouri, Texas and Nebraska have had their names thrown into the mix of potential players. Big East powerhouse Pittsburgh has also been brought up on several occasions. But Big Ten Commissioner James Delany and athletics directors from those universities have been extremely tight-lipped. The only thing Delany has said on the matter is that he has not had “any formal or informal interface with any institutions,” as he told Dan Bernstein and Terry Boers of WSCR radio in Chicago.However, that doesn’t mean some schools aren’t hoping for it or at least open to it. Mizzou officials have said the school is deeply tied to its current conference but is willing to listen to any offers made by the Big Ten. Nebraska Athletics Director Tom Osborne told Steve Sipple of Husker Extra he would not be averse to the idea either.Texas is the lone player that doesn’t have much to gain from joining the Big Ten. As an extremely successful perennial powerhouse in the Big 12, Texas earns the most revenue of any Big 12 school. However, that number could increase significantly if the Longhorns switched conferences. It’s very hard to argue with that $242 million mark.The entrant must also be able to benefit the conference as a whole. Texas is obviously the best choice to that end, with its top-tier football, men’s basketball, baseball, and ... Well, it’s hard to find a sport the Longhorns don’t have success in. Academics are also called into play, and the admissions standards for UT are comparable to those of Big Ten institutions. Obviously, Texas would be the best “get” for the conference.Mizzou is a strong school athletically, but its admissions standards are not as rigorous as those at Big Ten universities, nor does it have nearly as many reputable academic programs. Nebraska, a big football school, is also not as strong on the academic side and has little to offer the conference in terms of its market size when it comes to televised games. Pitt would be a good fit, except its market is already home to the most recent university to join the Big Ten — Penn State. While many would argue the rivalry would direct traffic and the markets are not as similar as they seem, Penn State’s demographic of incoming freshman is, on average, about 80 percent in-state students. The numbers speak for themselves.So, which school would be the best fit? For now, it seems like the long-shot Longhorns are the Big Ten’s big fish to catch. And after floating in the small pond that is the Big 12, Texas might be looking to swim in deeper waters.Despite all the uncertainty of what institution — if any — the Big Ten will bring into the fold, Glass said the choice will be fully thought out and evaluated. The conference wants to make sure what it does has a limited negative impact on the other Big Ten universities and brings with it great potential for future gain.We are yet to see if all these whispers will lead to some action from other programs. But if it’s true that money talks, then no conference is louder than the Big Ten.
(02/10/10 4:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Todd Yeagley is his father’s son – and that’s a problem for some IU fans.The son of IU legend Jerry Yeagley took the reins of the IU men’s soccer program under questionable circumstances, if you ask some members of Hoosier nation. A commenter on the IDS Web site claimed that the younger Yeagley was hired “not for experience or talent, but his name and thanks to Daddy.”Monday, Todd Yeagley took the first step toward proving himself to those skeptical Hoosier fans without leading IU in a single game – exhibition or otherwise – as he reeled in nine athletes from the 2010 class. The nine, four of whom are among the top-100 players in the nation, signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Hoosiers.Granted, Todd Yeagley led Wisconsin to a 7-9-2 record last year. Sure, he doesn’t have the track record as a head coach that, say, IU alumnus and Akron coach Caleb Porter has. But he has something that went a long way with a lot of the members of the 2010 class.That something is familiarity. Just ask IU’s top-rated recruit, Harrison Petts. A midfielder, he is rated as No. 4 in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com, and knew Todd Yeagley because he had committed to IU while Todd Yeagley was still an assistant coach at IU.“Once Coach Yeagley came, I was really comfortable with the decision and I knew the program would have no setbacks,” Petts said.The players have faith in Todd Yeagley. It’s his charisma, not his father’s, that dictated Jacob Bushue, No. 69 in the class of 2010, to not change his mind. Before Todd Yeagley came to IU, Bushue still thought of him highly as a coach.“I almost went to Wisconsin because of him,” Bushue said. “We’re pretty close. We get along real well. He’s a real good coach.”Let’s face facts. IU never had a shot with Porter. He wants his own legacy, and the fact that he signed an extension with Akron through the 2014 season shows that. Sorry, Hoosier Nation, but it wasn’t in the cards.As far as former coach Mike Freitag’s dismissal goes, let’s do the math. His teams have, since Freitag’s first recruiting class came in, gone from a scoring average of 2.3 goals per game in 2005 to about 1.2 in 2009. The groups have also allowed more goals, too, going from .68 goals allowed in 2005 to about 1.1 in 2009.For a perennial power such as IU, with seven national championships and a tradition that is perhaps stronger than any other collegiate soccer program, those numbers don’t add up.IU Athletics Director Fred Glass made the right call in picking Todd Yeagley. He picked a coach who was the least-removed from the program – both by years and by experience. He picked a coach that recruits from this year were familiar with and would be comfortable with.“I knew Todd really well, so I was really happy he got the job,” said Dylan Lax, a product of Columbus North high school in Indiana. “In a way, I was kind of worried, but I knew everything would work out, and I was glad Todd was able to get the job because I know him really well and we’ve had some good talks.”In essence, Glass’ choice, like Petts said, will not set IU back – not in the least.Some recruits said they would have it no other way.“I’m excited about Yeagley coming in,” said Matt McKain, Lax’s teammate at Columbus North. “His dad did so much for the program, it’s exciting to see it stay in the family.”Todd Yeagley managed to retain the vast majority of the 2010 recruiting class, and he will be able to breathe life into a program that has become stagnant during the past few years. His players are comfortable with him. His recruits are comfortable with him. His athletics director is comfortable with him.Those things are all steps in the right direction. The next step is the biggest, though – taking his first strides onto the field named for his father.Regardless of the name of the field, the team is Todd’s. And he’ll have to show that he can live up to, not his father’s, but his fan’s expectations.
(02/04/10 1:40am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Living in an apartment is a double-edged sword.There’s the increased independence from life in the dorms – being able to have parties (legitimate ones, anyway), and being able to cook for yourself on a consistent basis. But then again, there’s the increased independence from life in the dorms – having to pay monthly bills, dealing with maintaining more than one half of a 30 square-foot area and cleaning up after that meal you just spent about a half hour cooking for yourself.While some dormers have to cope with these responsibilities, albeit infrequently, there isn’t much that can prepare you for the added stress – and joy, of course – of living in your own place.It’s nice to know on any given weekend there will be something to do that doesn’t involve a frat house or a party I got invited to over Facebook. Then again, I never realized how much cleaning up after my own party sucks – especially when someone you don’t know pukes in your shower.It’s great to not wake up to a fire alarm at 5 a.m. nearly every day of the week like I did while living in Read Center last year. However, I now have a new alarm, thanks to paper-thin walls and my roommate Darrell, whose snore sounds a bit like the sound a charging rhino might make.It’s been fantastic to have my own space and my own room for whenever I need to get homework done or just want some time to myself. What’s become clear, though, is the apartment lifestyle has made me want to focus on academia a lot less than before, which, judging by my GPA, was not much.I found my apartment on a whim when my friend and I decided to drive around, look at names, and text them to ourselves. We’d decided, as frugal out-of-state students, that living in Willkie Quad was not worth the expense. Our search led us to Campus Corner. The $379-per-month price tag – including utilities and some semblance of furniture – seemed fair to us. The volleyball court out by the pool, the tennis courts and the basketball courts were attractive. And the fact that we would be surrounded by other students but not have to live in the Villas, where 19- to 22-year-old livers go to die, was somewhat appealing.So three of my other floormates from freshman year and I made our choice. And none of us regret it.Our living space might be cleaned far less frequently than I’d like to admit. The tiles in our so-called “kitchen area” might be stained and, at times, sticky from beer spills and other liquor-induced mishaps. There might be random buttons scattered throughout the house for emergencies, similar to a retirement home.But that’s what it is – a home. A place we all love. At the end of the day, I have a place I can go and try to fall asleep without metal music blaring from someone’s computer 15 feet from me.And that, my friends, makes any cuts from that double-edged sword worthwhile.
(02/03/10 1:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Senior Amy Korthauer stands at the edge of the board, calm and still like the water she prepares to leap into.She spreads her arms out wide, letting her muscles relax, closing her eyes, taking it all in.Then, it’s time. She leaps. And as she hits the water, causing gentle ripples to circle across the pool, you can see she has come into her own as a diver at IU since her freshman year. And even if you don’t know a Gainer from a back three-and-a-half twister, you know she’s good – as is the rest of her team.With a win against No. 13 Louisville this past weekend and three-time Big Ten Swimmer of the Week senior Kate Fesenko leading the way, the women’s swimming and diving squad has, for a young team, made astounding progress this year.“I told them at the Christmas training camp we did that Rome wasn’t built in a day but we’ve certainly come a long, long way to get into the foundation laying,” IU coach Jeff Huber said. “It’s probably as much improvement as I’ve ever seen in one team, and I’ve been doing this for 33 years.”With 13 upperclassmen on a 34-person team, you would expect these athletes to be suffering from a lack of experience and be feeling the pain of the loss of former NCAA champion diver Christina Loukas, but that’s where you’d be wrong. This team is just as strong as ever before – in and out of the pool.Just ask Heidi Mahnken. She’ll tell you the team’s success is not purely based on what it does in the water.“I think we’ve really progressed a lot as a team,” she said. “We’re definitely a really close team this year. We have a lot of good character on the team. We’re all so different, but also alike at the same time.” Huber gives most of the credit to his athletes – and for good reason. After all, he says, when you’re diving off of the equivalent of a three-story building and hitting the water at 35 mph, it’s hard not to credit the person doing it.But he deserves some credit, as well, for everything this team accomplishes stems from Huber’s goal to help all his athletes do their best.“That’s what brings me back to coaching every year – just seeing the potential that’s there and helping to be a player in that,” he said. “Helping them, not just to grow as athletes, but as students and role models and human beings.”His work is evident in every spin, every flip, every spring off the diving board as they prepare for Nationals.As Mahnken hits the water with a tiny splash. Huber smiles and compliments her. A star athlete. A star student. A star role model.As he asks rhetorically, “What else can you ask for?”
(01/29/10 2:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The high jumper stands at the top of the lane, motionless for 32 seconds.He stares toward his nemesis, a bar balanced 2.17 meters above the track – a barrier he is determined to clear. His light blue eyes bore into it as he psyches himself up to run toward his lone obstacle here in Gladstein Fieldhouse, home of the IU track and field team. To him, the rest of the arena has fallen away. All that’s left is him and the bar.“OK, this isn’t anything,” the young man silently tells himself. “I’m used to it. I’ve seen this height before. I can jump this.”For the eternity of those 32 seconds, he focuses on one goal. To overcome. To ascend. To defy gravity.The lane leading to the bar, roughly 15 yards away, is a runway. And Derek Drouin is ready to fly.---Drouin, a 19-year-old sophomore, resembles a heron. He is tall – 6-foot-4 – and long and skinny. His build is typical for a high jumper.IU assistant coach Jeff Huntoon describes Drouin as a “prototypical” high jumper. But Drouin’s body is not his only weapon. He also possesses the mental edge that defines the elite group of athletes who glide above the bar. He and Ashley Rhoades, a high jumper for the IU women’s team, have reached new heights this year based on their almost supernatural ability to envelop themselves in concentration.“Both of them have the ability to focus in on what they’re doing and not get lost in a lot of the other minutiae that’s going on around them and not get caught up in too many other thought processes,” Huntoon says. “They’re going to focus on the one or two little elements that allowed them to miss the last bar and just go out there and give another good attempt.”Drouin, a native of Canada, first tried jumping in grade school, but didn’t really start competitively until he reached his junior year of high school in 2007. That same year, he went to the World Youth Championships in the Czech Republic. The pressure of the international spotlight did not stop him from performing, as he earned a 10th place finish.“Really, getting thrown into the deep end, I just learned to swim,” he says.---On this Saturday, as the seconds tick away, Drouin won’t be hurried. He is waiting for a feeling of readiness. He can’t describe it, but he’ll know it when it comes.Around him, the arena bursts with distractions. Fans are clapping for a pole vaulter attempting a personal record. A triple jumper sprints toward a sandy pit, his legs pounding the clay. Drouin hears none of it. Although his team is technically competing against their rival squad from Purdue University, Drouin recognizes that the bar is his true opponent. At its current height, it stands more than half a foot above his head. No one else from his team or Purdue’s has been able to clear it today.“I’ve been doing it for a while, and I’ve actually taught myself just to concentrate so much on the bar that I can’t really hear anything else,” Drouin says. “It’s just something you have to teach yourself how to do.”On his first leap of the day, a routine jump of 2.14 meters, he cut his wrist on the mat that breaks the jumpers’ falls. Even though the wound is still bleeding, he must force the lingering pain out of his mind. Any distraction could spell disaster.The bar is unforgiving. The slightest touch, and it falls. Drouin’s current jump is only three centimeters higher than the last. But in this sport, even the slightest increase in height exponentially increases difficulty – and the jumper’s doubts. Sooner or later, as the bar is raised higher and higher, even the most gifted flyers crash.“High jump and pole vault are the only two events that end in failure,” says Jared Nuxoll, another IU high jumper. “Your last three attempts are always going to be misses. It’s important to stay positive.”The bar radiates uncertainty, especially when jumpers attempt personal records. Once it is set, Nuxoll says, a daunting thought creeps into the jumper’s mind: “I’ve never jumped higher than that.”Form fails. Even the best mentally crumble. And as confidence fades, so does the chance of succeeding.When Drouin’s about to head down the runway, he has to erase his doubts and overcome his fear. Sometimes he will take his first few steps and already know he’s off to a bad start. Even then, there’s no turning back.This afternoon, as Drouin gathers himself at the top of the lane, something slowly shifts inside him. His eyes become glassy. The tension in his body evaporates. He enters his own world.With his right leg positioned in front of his left, he rears back just a little, then propels himself forward and starts to run. ---Jumping is an emotionally charged event, and every jumper handles it differently. In the 2009 NCAA Mideast Regional, Drouin was pitted against an indoor national champion in the long jump and All-American in the high jump, Tone Belt of the University of Louisville. Belt was hungry for another victory, and his voracity knew no bounds. Drouin was his main competition, and he knew it. With every jump he completed, Belt unleashed a primal roar and stared at Drouin to make sure the freshman was watching.Drouin was not intimidated. As the day wore on and the stakes climbed, he stuck to his routine. Every time he finished a jump, he avoided celebration. His unshakeable cool won him respect from his peers and a first-place finish.This year, Drouin has been flying higher than ever. In the inaugural event of the season, the Indiana Open, he cleared 2.24 meters, earning automatic qualification to the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. But he didn’t stop there. The next height he attempted was 2.28 meters – a mark that would have won him the best clearance of the indoor season. Not just collegiately. Not just nationally. But in the world.His first and second attempts were close – so close that on the second try, he thought he’d made it. As he landed, the bar remained in place for a split second, then fell. When it collapsed, so did he.“I was already on the mat, and I thought I’d made it,” he says. “I heard everyone sigh, and then I realized that I’d missed it. I’ve seen video, and I’m still not really sure of what hit the bar.”That day, Drouin had earned the best clearance in the nation in the high jump. His jump bested that of any amateur or professional, even Olympic hopefuls. And still, the bar had won. This is the elemental struggle all high jumpers face. Because the bar always triumphs in the end, it inspires fear of failure and defeat. And that fear costs jumpers dearly.But Ashley Rhoades, also one of the country’s best collegiate high jumpers, says the bar also embodies something other than doubt. To her, it symbolizes possibility.“It just motivates me that there’s always another mark,” she says. “There’s always another goal that I can reach. If it’s a centimeter, if it’s a couple inches, there’s always a little bit better that you can do. There’s always another standard that you can hit.”To her, the possibilities are more powerful. Achieving a goal, breaking a record. Soaring above it all.--- It took Drouin 32 seconds to collect himself. Now, accelerating down the runway, it only takes him four seconds to approach his target.As he gets closer, he repeats the same thought over and over.“I can still do it . . . I can still do it . . . I . . . ”At the last moment, he curls toward the right, so that the left side of his body is parallel to the bar. He throws his arms back, bends his knees and goes airborne. He sails head first, his back facing downward. As his butt clears the bar, he kicks his legs toward the sky. Even before he lands, he knows he’s made it.What no one else has accomplished today, he makes look easy. He would like to jump up and down, but all the energy inside him is drained.He stands up, his face set in stone. Without a word, he walks away.
(01/27/10 4:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As the wrestlers shuffle along their practice room’s mat-covered floor, IU coach Duane Goldman barks out orders.“Keep your head up,” he implores them. “Touch the ground.”Assistant coach Joe Dubuque, who wrestled for Goldman for two national championships at IU, works with team members, bending low at the knee, lifting his head and showing them proper technique.“Gotta get better today,” he shouts.From this form drill to running sprints up inclines to a 40-minute live wrestling drill, this team has embraced whatever Goldman and his staff have implemented.And it shows.The No. 14 Hoosiers (12-1, 1-1) have finished in the top 10 of every scored tournament this season and have four top-15 wrestlers on its squad.And those four, Goldman said, are the four that work the hardest in practice.Seniors Angel Escobedo (No. 1 at 125 pounds) and Nate Everheart (No. 2 at heavyweight) and juniors Kurt Kinser (No. 6 at 157) and Paul Young (No. 13 at 165) exemplify athletes buying into a system and benefitting from it. Although they might not enjoy it sometimes, they know the workouts have immense benefits.“The goal in every practice is to push yourself physically and mentally,” Young said. “I think that’s something Duane’s really done through lifts, through running, through drills, through wrestling live.”They also trust their coach, who has been around the wrestling and coaching block. An 18-year veteran at IU, he was also a four-time All-American at Iowa during his collegiate wrestling days, compiling a 132-10 record at 190 pounds and earning an NCAA Championship in his senior year.“He’s been doing it his whole life,” Young said of the team’s rigorous practice schedule. “He was trained that way growing up as a wrestler himself. He knows exactly what he’s doing. What we do on a daily basis – it all has a purpose for later on.”It’s not just running until they vomit or doing leg lifts until the room becomes blurry that has this team among the top groups in the country. It’s also based in technique and mental toughness generated by drilling and getting through the daily grind, Kinser said.“It makes you improve everywhere,” he said. “Of course, athletically, you get better, but the mental building is just a really, really big key in college ... Mentally, I’m the best I’ve been ever since I’ve been here at Indiana.”A more physically imposing wrestler, Kinser said he is not so much a technician as others in his weight class. That has forced him to work harder every day so he can outwork every opponent on the mat. From there, it’s a matter of what the coaches see from their team that determines what they’ll do in practice during the next week.“If they feel like we need conditioning, we’ll do a lot more running and stuff,” Kinser said. “If it’s a matter of we’re getting out-techniqued on the mat, we’ll definitely put a lot more into drilling and situations. All that stuff translates directly to our matches.”With their top four men totaling 94 wins and eight losses this season, it’s clear that the “stuff” Kinser speaks of is getting through to some.And as they sit at practice’s end, shirts drenched in sweat and eyes glazed, Goldman talks about instilling it in every team member.He tells them to make the most of each day, that people compete harder when Big Ten season comes and everyone, even the non-starters, has to step up their wrestling to push the varsity wrestlers to a higher level.In the end, it’s about doing the little things right. And when you’re in a conference that made up nearly half of the NCAA tournament last year, those are what matter most.“Sometimes the things that you hate the worst are the best things for you,” Young said.And that’s not just a lesson for this team.