IUPD

Hysteria replaces Madness due to new NCAA rules

Last season, a first-game exit from the Big Ten tournament sucked the madness out of the Hoosiers' March, and hysteria ensued. Bracey Wright, leading scorer for the team and the Big Ten, left for the NBA draft and IU head coach Mike Davis again faced criticism for failing to make the NCAA tournament. It's only fitting that the Hoosiers' third quest for madness begins with a little bit of hysteria.

Tall tales

Junior guard Roderick Wilmont sat tall on a tiny chair in front of giggly, wide-eyed school children who were in awe of their atypical storyteller, who just brushed through the final pages of "Where the Wild Things Are." "What was your favorite book?" a tiny voice from the crowd said. "I loved 'Green Eggs and Ham.' But my other favorite book was 'Miss Nelson.' That used to give me nightmares," Wilmont said to a roar of laughter.

Film crew to capture IU 'partying'

Fuzzy bar-hopping memories from this weekend might sharpen come mid- November. A film crew is rolling into three Bloomington bars Saturday night to film students "partying" for a DVD called "The Top 10 Party Schools," which will be sold online in about a month, said Jessica Morgan, a producer for Dancing Toad Productions, the Manhattan-based company producing the feature.

Hoosiers on the prowl in Auburn

The IU women's swimming and diving team will begin its season in dramatic fashion as the Hoosiers face off against one of the nation's most elite teams: the Tigers of Auburn University. IU will make its first splash of the season and hopes to continue its tradition of excellence at 6:30 p.m. today at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn, Ala.

IU runners define student-athlete

When the IU women's cross country team gets back from an away meet, the last thing it wants to do is spend several hours hitting the books. But they do it anyway. And hitting the books has led the team to the highest athletic team GPA of any program on campus with 12 athletes earning Academic All-Big Ten honors. This weekend the team heads to Terre Haute to run in the Pre-NCAA meet, one of the most competitive of the year. And although the Hoosiers' season is entering its most difficult and crucial weeks, team members do not have a break from academics or midterms.

Winning streaks at stake when No. 7 IU visits No. 9 Ohio State

There's a lot on the line today when the No. 7 IU field hockey team travels to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the No. 9 Ohio State Buckeyes. At stake in this showdown of top 10 Big Ten rivals is both teams' unbeaten conference records, an IU win streak of nine games, a Buckeye win streak of 11 games and seeding implications for next month's Big Ten tournament.

Women try to get back on track; men seek revenge

Homecoming might have been in Bloomington last weekend, but don't tell that to some of the members of the IU men's soccer team. For six Hoosiers, this weekend's road trip will be a homecoming of sorts as the team travels to the Chicagoland area for two Big Ten matches.

Women try to get back on track; men seek revenge

IU coach Mick Lyon likens his team to a train. Recently, Lyon said the train has been struggling to keep its wheels on the track. That track runs through Evanston, Ill., and Madison, Wis., this weekend as the Hoosiers (5-7-1, 1-4 Big Ten) take on Northwestern and Wisconsin. "We need to find a groove," he said. "Right now we have one foot on the track but the second keeps slipping off. If we can get both feet on, we'll be cruising."

Hoosiers look for first Big Ten road win

Before the football season began, Terry Hoeppner had a simple request for his team. "We challenged (the team) in the spring," Hoeppner said. "We want to play 12. What we do between now and then will determine how realistic that goal becomes." Halfway through their schedule with five games down, the Hoosiers will march toward their goal of extending their season to a 12th game, beginning with a trip to Kinnick Stadium to face Iowa Saturday.

U.N. official: Earthquake relief effort needs helicopters, financial support

UNITED NATIONS -- Relief crews need helicopters and cash more than anything else to help the estimated 4 million people affected by the earthquake in the disputed Kashmir region, a U.N. official said Thursday.

Russian rebels attack police, government offices; 85 dead

NALCHIK, Russia -- Militants attacked police and government buildings in Russia's volatile Caucasus region Thursday, taking hostages and turning a provincial capital into a war zone wracked by gunfire and explosions that left at least 85, mostly insurgents, dead.

Fears of attacks loom as Iraq readies for constitutional vote

HADITHA, Iraq -- U.S. Marines handed out thousands of fliers and copies of Iraq's new constitution Thursday, urging people to vote in this Sunni Arab town that only a week ago was the target of U.S. airstrikes.

What a difference a year makes for Tate, Powers

A year ago, IU sophomore quarterback Blake Powers went seemingly unknown. While Powers sat on the bench and watched the Hoosiers struggle, Iowa quarterback Drew Tate earned All-Big Ten honors and led the Hawkeyes to a tie for first place in the conference. What a difference a year makes. So far this season, Powers has accumulated more passing yards and touchdowns than Tate, en route to the Hoosiers holding a better record than the Hawkeyes.

Out with the old, in with the new

Times are changing in the land of the Hoosiers. A major component of basketball in Bloomington for the last few years is gone. After what can only be described as a disappointing career, highlighted by flashes of brilliance followed quickly by maddening mental breakdowns, a player decided it was time for a new challenge. In the spring, he ended months of speculation by confirming most of our fears and leaving the IU program. It was like someone punched the entire Hoosier nation in the gut. It was official. The Patrick Ewing Jr. era was over.

Coach Versyp makes debut at Hoosier Hysteria

Midnight Madness is no more. Or at least the way IU fans have come to know it in the past. The men's and women's basketball teams will still hold their annual first practice of the year Friday night, but under a new name and at a new time. "I'm not sure how I feel about it," said junior center Sarah McKay. "It's always been tradition."

Weekly Rant

All sit and no play makes Marco a hungry boy

For more than a year, senior forward Marco Killingsworth has been trying to break down the door to Assembly Hall. He flirted with the court last season but kept a coach's eye view from the bench as he served his year of ineligibility after transferring -- enough to drive a man mad.

NAACP event to address national conscience

The first step to solving problems is awareness of the problems. That's why the theme for this year's NAACP Monroe County Branch's Annual Freedom Fund Banquet is "Conscience of the Nation."

Annual bike race to attract more than 4,000

Soon to be riding bikes on narrow country roads against the backdrop of Indiana hardwood forests, more than 4,000 cyclists have entered the 38th Annual Hilly Hundred.

IUSA president caught in web of parking tag theft

Not even high-ranking student officials are immune to the parking permit theft fever of 2005.