on the SIDELINES
NEW YORK -- Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins was a unanimous choice for the American League Cy Young Award Thursday, rewarded for a stellar second half that helped his team win its third straight division title.
NEW YORK -- Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins was a unanimous choice for the American League Cy Young Award Thursday, rewarded for a stellar second half that helped his team win its third straight division title.
Tennis, by nature, is a sport of the individual. Even when a team concept is at hand, success rides on the collection of singular efforts. The IU men's tennis team will test the strength of its individual parts this weekend as the Hoosiers close their fall season with the Big Ten Singles Championship at the Nielson Tennis Stadium at the University of Wisconsin.
One last hurrah. The 2004 class of Hoosier football players will suit up for the final time at Memorial Stadium Saturday against the 2-7 Penn State Nittany Lions. While 18 players will say goodbye to their home turf, all the players remain vigilant in their quest to beat Penn State despite the lack of a bowl bid. Senior safety Herana-Daze Jones said the team still has high expectations for Saturday's game, and he fully believes the Hoosiers can pull out a victory.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest said Wednesday that he asked coach Rick Carlisle for time off because of a busy schedule that included promoting a soon-to-be released rap album, which led to his two-game benching.
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Brian Cashman wanted to make this perfectly clear: The umpires were correct when they called Alex Rodriguez out for interference on that crazy play during the AL championship series. "They got it completely right, 100 percent," the New York Yankees' general manager said this week.
Over the last 40 years, only three defensive players have been selected as the Big Ten's most valuable player. Wisconsin defensive end Erasmus James could make it four.
He is one of the smallest players in Division I football at 5-foot-5 and 167 pounds, but Lance Bennett plays big. Against Oregon this year, the sophomore's 98-yard kickoff return for a TD shifted the game's momentum and helped IU upset the ranked Ducks. It was the second-longest return in school history. Against Michigan State, his 94-yard punt return for six-points broke a 14-year-old Hoosier record. Bennett, who also is a top songwriter, ranks first in the Big Ten and fourth in the nation in yards per kick return at 31.41.
Parking spaces were scarce Wednesday night at University Gym as the IU women's volleyball team played host to arch-rival Purdue. The crowd was loud and the players were pumped, but the Hoosiers came up short for the fifth straight time, losing in a five-game heartbreaker.
While the No. 4 IU men's soccer team does not begin its Big Ten Tournament title defense until 11:30 a.m. Friday, in Ann Arbor, Mich., the rest of the tournament gets underway this morning. Because the Hoosiers (14-3-1, 5-1 Big Ten) tied Ohio State (10-5-2, 5-1 Big Ten) for the best record in the conference this season, the Big Ten looks to head-to-head meetings. IU defeated the Buckeyes 2-0 in Columbus in October, securing the No. 1 seed and the first round bye for the Hoosiers in the Big Ten Tournament.
IU senior midfielder Danny O'Rourke and junior back Drew Moor just made the semifinal cut as two of the final 15 candidates in the country for the National Player of the Year award. However, the only thing on the mind of the IU men's soccer team's top duo is a Big Ten tournament title.
Getting the opportunity to travel overseas is one many people never experience in their lifetimes. For four Hoosier players and the IU women's basketball coaching staff, the chance to participate internationally was too good to pass up as they went to Australia, Canada, Guatemala and Cuba this summer.
After sitting out two seasons because of medical redshirts, senior Jamie Gathing was awarded a sixth year of eligibility for the 2004-05 season by the NCAA. The Kankakee, Ill., native will rejoin a Hoosier lineup this year that features 11 returning letter winners from last season.
The IU volleyball team (8-17, 2-12 Big Ten) looks to bounce back from two consecutive losses this weekend when it faces in-state rival Purdue tonight. The Hoosiers dropped matches to both Michigan State and Michigan this weekend in Bloomington.
Looking down his bench this year, IU coach Mike Davis sees something personal. Not only is this the first year with every player being a Davis recruit, but the coaching staff is also a product of his own.
NEW YORK -- Clearly, sticking around the major leagues was a great career move for Roger Clemens. As dominant as ever after reversing his decision to retire, the 42-year-old Rocket easily won his record seventh Cy Young Award on Tuesday after taking the Houston Astros within one win of the World Series.
Winning. A simple philosophy. It's all IU's storied tradition had known since 1970. However, last year's Hoosier team, buoyed by one star, Bracey Wright, for lack of a better phrase, fell flat on its face. Finishing with a 14-15 record, the Hoosiers failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years, snapping the second longest streak of consecutive appearances in the Big Dance.
For most teams, a 5-3 record and a share of a division lead would constitute a good first half of the season, but the Indianapolis Colts aren't most teams.
Returning this year for her fifth year at the helm of IU women's basketball is head coach Kathi Bennett. Bennett, in her 17th season as a collegiate head coach, will look to improve on last year's 12-17 record as she returns 11 letter winners from last season.
Coming into his fifth season as head coach of the men's basketball team, IU coach Mike Davis has his work cut out for him. Not only are some IU fans still bitter at the firing of former coach Bob Knight by former IU and current NCAA president Myles Brand, but last season's 14-15 record and a missed trip to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 seasons, just added salt to their wounds.
Coming off a season where the Hoosiers women's basketball team finished 12-17 and had everyone returning, expectations were high -- then an injury occurred. Senior guard/forward Jenny DeMuth tore her anterior cruciate ligament within two hours of the season starting. How the team responds from the injury will be a test IU must pass in order to make it to the NCAA tournament.