Region

Hoosiers begin season on road

The wrestling team opens its season Sunday in Columbia, Mo., for the Missouri Open. More than 20 teams and 400 individuals were involved in the meet last year. Many of the individuals in this year's open are ranked nationally.

Team to defend title at invitational

IU looks for morale-boosting win

The Hoosiers return home today following a road loss to Michigan Nov. 2, hoping to transform solid performance into a victory. Head coach Kris Kirchner said that, despite the 160-82.5 loss to Michigan, the team is swimming well.

Women sign 2 for next season

The Hoosiers have begun to prepare for the 2002-2003 volleyball season with the signing of Ashley White (St. Charles, Ill.) and Mandy Eberle (Sussex, Wisc.). The two high school seniors signed national letters of intent to play volleyball for Indiana.

Davis says he is nervous about this season

Yes, this is a new season for men's basketball coach Mike Davis and his Hoosiers. IU no longer feels like they are playing for Davis' job now that he is their coach without the interim label. But Davis said he will feel the same as last year when he opens his second season directing the Hoosiers as IU travels to Charlotte to take on the 49ers 7:30 p.m. Sunday night.

Battle for the Monon Spike

Tonight is an important and emotional night for the Hoosiers, as the women's volleyball team takes on the Purdue Boilermakers at 7 p.m. in the annual match for the Monon Spike. It will also be the last time seniors Laurie Gardner, Crecia Keithley and Meghan Stout play on their home court at the University Gymnasium.

Hoosiers to play Stanford tonight

The season couldn't get too much more difficult for the women's basketball team after tonight. The Hoosiers open the regular season against No. 9 Stanford in the Stanford Tournament 8 p.m. today in Palo Alto, Calif. IU (20-11, 9-7 Big Ten last season) didn't schedule a game against a higher ranked team for this season.

Take a moment to reflect on life

He stood in the woods on a lonely Sunday night. Only 15 feet from the home where he grew into a man, he stood still, alone, for the last time. Moments later, he loaded the handgun bought for his family's protection from all of the harm that this crazy world can bring. He gripped a cordless phone in the other hand, although he never made a final call. As the trees quivered and the wind blew, his single shot to the head shattered the serenity around him and his body went cold. He would be found hours later by his brother, coming to see how he was doing as he retreated into the woods at his parents' house -- hiding from a shaky relationship with a wife he adored and a son who was his best friend.

Singer/songwriter not taking risks

Former bandmates Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy have proved to be two of the most volatile personalities in popular music these days. First, they couldn't get along together in Uncle Tupelo, forcing that band's breakup. Now, almost every original band member has left Tweedy's new group Wilco. Jay Farrar's Son Volt is on hiatus now, and he refuses to give a definite answer about the future of that group.

Grateful for grounding friends

Iwas a little uncomfortable sitting there in the cafe. I've always known that I wasn't a cafe kind of guy. For me, cafes conjure visions of small portions, croissants and teas with all sorts of fruit flavorings in them. Like boysenberry. Or kiwi. Or prune. But I also try to be open-minded (I swear), so I figured I'd give this place a go. And in the end, it wasn't that bad. I ordered a chicken wrap type of thing, and it was actually fairly big. They also let me drink Diet Coke instead of a hot beverage. And the men's bathroom was so nice it looked like a women's bathroom. Not that I would know what a women's bathroom looks like.

Hoosier players claim victory

Throughout Wednesday night\'s game, men's basketball coach Mike Davis was smiling, then glaring, then laughing and finally showing exasperation by slouching back in his chair. Davis' reactions might be misleading. The Hoosiers won their second and final preseason game last night, beating Nike Elite, 98-76, in front of 11,238 fans at Assembly Hall. Junior guard Tom Coverdale led the Hoosiers with 18 points and eight assists. Senior guard Dane Fife had 15 and junior forward Jeff Newton added 14. Sophomore forward Jared Jeffries pitched in 13 points and nine rebounds. But Davis managed to find some flaws in his team's effort, pointing to the start of each half in particular and the Hoosiers' defense.

Brehm hosts civil liberties forum

It's no surprise that the U.S. has been forever changed in the wake of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, and as a result, an important set of freedoms and rights previously embraced by American citizens is now under constant scrutiny -- American civil liberties. "Your Rights vs. National Security" was the topic Wednesday night during a panel discussion presented by Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm, the second in a series to address many of the issues regarding the terrorism attacks that face not only the country as a whole, but IU.

Prepare for Service

Wing Fitness Commander Micah Jones has wanted to fly since he was 5-years-old. As a boy, his father took him to air shows. He remembers being impressed with the loud noise of the engines and the pilots in their uniforms. "When you're a little guy, anybody in uniform gets your attention," Jones, a junior in Air Force ROTC said. "I remember one guy actually took me up in the cockpit and pointed out things to me. When you're a little guy that's just the coolest thing on the Earth and I was just hooked." Many students become 'hooked' and join the Air Force and Army ROTC for various reasons. Some want to become leaders, defend their nation, fulfill a family legacy or experience the thrill of flight in an F-15. Others just want to graduate debt free.

My best friend, Britney Spears

Pink Floyd isn't just for stoners

Carlton takes diving to next level

Sophomore Marc Carlton has been around diving all his life. Carlton's mom, Carolyn, won two national diving championships and now coaches in Rochester, N.Y. At age 10 Carlton became interested in diving, and has since forged that interest into a successful career as a Hoosier, most recently culminating in the Big Ten co-diver of the week award following his performance at Michigan Nov. 2. "To me, it just means all the hard work I did last year is going to come into play this year," Carlton said of the award. "I did work really hard last year, but I just didn't get to compete up to where I should have. But this year, I'm just going to keep working hard and competing up to where I should be this year. I think that's just a good start, to show how the year's going to go."

Hoosiers fall short, Illinois wins in four games

The Hoosiers' season dwindled down to only three matches left as IU battled Illinois last night at University Gym. The Hoosiers gave a stellar performance and held off No. 21 Illinois in the first match of the game, but couldn't pull out the win falling after four games. "We definitely competed with this team and I think that Illinois was very strong with their middles and when they were in system they were really good. We struggled with stopping their middles, but we served tough and we took their middles out. We were competing and playing," head coach Katie Weismiller said.

Can Cam beat the old man?

Joe Paterno has seen Jesus, Moses and probably helped write the Ten Commandments. The man sidestepped dinosaurs on a recruiting trip to visit Christopher Columbus. Along the road, he has racked up 325 victories, 19 bowl wins, six undefeated seasons and two national championships. Cam Cameron -- at his current pace of four victories a season -- would get win No. 325 in his 82nd season. As for the national championship ... well ... Paterno has led the Nittany Lions to 11 or more victories in 12 seasons, coached 30 first-team All-Americans and 200 NFL players (Moses opted for Bible school rather than the NFL) and is a four-time coach of the year. Paterno's 325-95 record (.773 winning percentage) is nuts. Cameron has lost 36 games in 4-plus seasons.

Knee injuries devastating

NFL players obviously know the risks they take every time they suit up and take the field. Sixty minutes of hard hitting war leads to injuries ranging from small to permanent. But this season the injuries that are decimating players and teams seem to be centralized around one body part -- the knee. Over the past few years, the knee injury has been the most devastating to NFL, specifically to running backs. It has ended seasons and limited careers. Glance at the NFL injury report: Jamal Lewis, Jamal Anderson, Emmitt Smith, Terrell Davis, Tyrone Wheatley, Edgerrin James and Marshall Faulk. This could be a list of Pro Bowl electees ordinarily, but this year, they have all spent time out of commission because of knee injuries.

Bloomington South guard commits to Hoosiers with family appeal

Cindy Valentin, the top girls prep basketball player in Bloomington and a top recruit in the state of Indiana, has signed a letter of intent to play at IU. Yesterday in the principal's office at Bloomington High School South, Valentin made good on her verbal commitment from the spring and signed with the Hoosiers. The signing capped off a remarkable two days for Valentin. Just the night before her No. 9 Panthers upset Terre Haute South, the top-ranked team in the state. Valentin's close family was on hand for the occasion. "I was surprised, I didn't think they were going to offer me (a scholarship) early. I'm just happy I get to stay close to my friends and family and have the opportunity to play in the Big Ten," Valentin said.