Sports

Student season tickets still on sale; 4,000 unsold seats open to public

With the team’s home opener just more than a week away and reportedly 4,000 student season tickets still unsold, the IU Athletics Department has announced it has begun to sell the leftover tickets to the general public.PODCAST: Hoosier Sidelines

Coaching the night away

In honor of the election, I decided it was time for a change for Straight Bidness. It was time for a democracy. So, I devised a plan. I polled all my loyal readers who have sent me feedback (be it good or bad) in the past to see which of my two column ideas they would rather read. I know what you’re thinking. You’re probably sneering, “Congrats Mike. You talked to all five of your readers.” I don’t blame you for thinking that either. But you will be shocked to know that I spoke with 26 people, 23 of whom read my column on a consistent basis.

Edwards’ gamble tightens Chase battle

Jimmie Johnson, owner of the last two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship trophies and the presumed owner of the 2008 edition, suffered his worst finish of Chase for the Sprint Cup competition Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Fortunately for Carl Edwards – Johnson’s nearest rival – that poor finish coincided with a second-straight Edwards victory. Unfortunately for Edwards though, Johnson’s poor 15th-place finish would have been a respectable finish for most competitors.

Hoosiers look to sweep Wright State again

The IU club ice hockey team looks to snap its four-game losing streak this weekend with two home games against Wright State. After starting out 6-0, the Hoosiers have been swept by Davenport and Michigan in the past two weekends, respectively. Fortunately for the team, two of its six wins this year came when it swept Wright State last month. Despite their two victories against the Raiders, they know not to come into any game unprepared. “You can’t take anyone lightly. We’re going to be working hard in practice this week,” said junior Joe Fornari. “We’re going to give them our best look. We’re not underestimating anyone.”

IU volleyball team swept by No. 1 Penn State

The IU volleyball team battled hard against the top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions on the road Wednesday but ultimately came up short. Penn State has not lost a game or a set this year, and for the first two sets, that streak appeared to be in little danger, as the visitors won 25-13 and 25-14. However, after a halftime pep talk from coach Sherry Dunbar, IU came out a different team. “We talked about playing aggressive in the locker room,” Dunbar said. “We brought the energy (in the third set), and we weren’t intimidated by them.” In the third set, the Hoosiers kept the Nittany Lions on their heels and led 22-21 before ultimately losing the final four points. The overall loss was the Hoosiers’ first in their last in five matches and drops their record to 6-7 in the Big Ten and 14-11 overall. IU senior middle blocker Erica Short said she was pleased with the Hoosiers’ play in the third set and thought they could have come out on top in it. “We obviously could have won the third set, but I was proud of how of our team played,” Short said. “We also stayed aggressive and didn’t care that they were the No. 1 team in the nation.”

Sanders still valuable to Colts

New AD grew under Peterson

Men's tennis serves up wins at Big Ten Singles Championships

The IU men’s tennis team met one of its goals at the Big Ten Singles Championships this past weekend, as every Hoosier advanced past the first round. Sophomore Lachlan Ferguson paced IU, advancing to the quarterfinals. Ferguson defeated Northwestern’s Pete Rispoli (6-0, 6-7, 7-5) and Alexander Thams (4-6, 6-2, 6-2) en route to the final eight.

Volleyball team eyes Iowa, No.13 Minnesota

Perhaps revenge is what it does best. The IU volleyball team scored two upsets against Iowa and No. 13 Minnesota, after losing to them both earlier this season. IU’s success now puts it 6-6 in the Big Ten and 14-10 overall.

Hot first half leads women's basketball team past Greyhounds

The IU women’s basketball team was once again impressive last night. This time, they showed their talents off to the Indianapolis Greyhounds in an 82-56 victory. The Greyhounds scored at the 15:04 mark in the first half to make it 7-2 in favor of the Hoosiers. After, Indianapolis did not score until 6:58 left in the half. A scoreless drought of more than eight minutes. The Greyhounds’ next bucket made it 30-5, and the rout was on.

IU club hockey falls twice to Michigan

The IU club hockey team suffered two losses against Michigan over the weekend. The Hoosiers have now lost four in a row after losing two games to Davenport the week before. The team’s record is 6-4. Friday’s game was neck-and-neck, with the score deadlocked at one for most of the contest. The Wolverines managed to get a power play goal to go ahead 2-1. Then a fluke goal on a bounce gave Michigan a 3-1 lead, which proved to be insurmountable, as that became the final score. “It was another close game all the way through,” IU coach Tom Orr said. “Towards the end, we dominated play but just couldn’t get a goal.”

Obama: an example of sport revealing character

If you’re like me, you’ve been consumed by this year’s election. I just can’t seem to get enough of it. As one of your sports columnists, I’ve probably done my readers a disservice during the bulk of this semester as the majority of the TV I’ve been watching has consisted of campaign news. And if I do watch anything else, it’s via DVR. I honestly haven’t even watched much football.

Campaigning 101 for the blue and white

The folks who’ve been knocking on my door for the past few months tell me today’s Election Day. In honor of this highly ignored American holiday, I wanted to do a little research to see if any of the most famous campaign slogans could help inspire the Indianapolis Colts – who survived the Midterm Elections with a 4-4 record – to improve their approval ratings and squeak into the playoffs.

Hoosiers conclude exhibition schedule versus Indianapolis

After the IU women’s basketball team’s 93-49 blowout of Southern Indiana on Saturday, it might seem there is not much left to work on. But IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said there are improvements to be made. On Saturday, the team shot just 47.8 percent from the free-throw line and grabbed 40 rebounds when Legette-Jack said they should have had at least 50. Legette-Jack said two key areas needing to be addressed are free-throw shooting and tenacity and purpose when it comes to rebounding. “If we can get our free throws together and be hungrier for those offensive rebounds and we keep doing what we’ve already done, I think we have a good shot at being a pretty good team,” she said. The Hoosiers will have another opportunity to show improvement as they take on Indianapolis in their final exhibition game at 7 p.m. today in Assembly Hall.

Crean makes Haunted Hall of Hoops a treat for kids on Halloween

Assembly Hall most likely saw a few things for the first time this Halloween: a halftime costume parade, a spirited game of Chubby Bunny and a 7-foot-tall junior holding Cinderella above his head so she could make a lay-up.

Football down but not feeling out just yet

Following a 37-34 loss to Central Michigan on Saturday, the Hoosiers are approaching the breaking point of their 2008 season. Junior linebacker Will Patterson was so perturbed by his team’s performance he somewhat called out them out following the game. “We’ve got certain guys that go out and play like warriors every Saturday,” Patterson said. “Then you’ve got the few guys that just kind of do their own thing. It showed today and we’ll get it fixed.”

Cross country teams fair well at conference tourney

Field hockey ends regular season with loss

Volleyball back in NCAA Tournament contention

Women's swimming and diving takes 2nd amidst top programs