Forbes names Hamilton County #1

Fishers and Carmel are in everyone's top 10 list for this and that, but together they stand alone as Forbes' Best Place to Raise a Family. Factors that played into the rankings include cost of living, graduation rate, crime rate and per-capita income. Hamilton County features Carmel's Monon Center, Fishers' Connor Prairie, Noblesville's historic downtown and Deer Creek, Cicero's Morse Lake, Geist Reservoir, and Clay Terrace all contributing to Indy's northern county's #1 ranking.

I feel like ranting so here it is

Notre Dame football will always be on national TV in America and most people don't like it. You either hate em or love em. Without sounding like an obvious homer (South Bend is upstate, my parents are from Elkhart County), they ring true excellence academically... less than a handful of BCS schools can claim that (Stanford, Duke... UCLA?). Their definition of a student-athlete is so far beyond any BigTen or SEC school it hurts (Northwestern? Vandy?). They refuse to join a conference in football, so now you hate them more. Those cocky bastards. Then they got Bellicheat's former protègè and he eats a lot. A lot. And they haven't won a bowl game for a decade and a half. Nevermind that they were Vegas' underdog in 7 of those 9 matchups dating all the way to their back to back Cotton Bowl wins in '93/'94 . The Cotton Bowl, the 5th member of the BCS Series, which is IU football's next step, after they install new turf of course. And get a real Head Coach. Chances that will happen with a lame duck Athletic Director? I've seen a lot of chaos since being 22-4 and whipping Purdont, well actually since I was a rioting student the week Kent Harvey's arm was grabbed by Knight. Before then, being a Hoosier fan was like being a Pacers fan. Nowadays being a Pacers fan is the more humbling than Notre Dame's current plight. This was my team growing up... Reggie Miller posters wall to wall... wearing the shorts and jerseys to school... waiting for autographs after games. Today tickets are basically free and management has turned over for the first time in 24 years. I'm 26. I cannot recall the Hoosiers winning it all in '87 or the Irish doing so in '88 but I do remember the Reds sweep of Oakland in '90. Then there was a huge gap til 2007, when Colts clinched their first in Indy. But that made it even moreso rewarding as a fan, or fanatic in my case. A team that was 10 years removed from 1-15 turned into 3 straight years of being undefeated in November... Colts are synonymous with AFC SOUTH CHAMP, literally, they're the sole owner of such a title. Holy shit I can't wait to see Lucas Oil.

Hoosiers in the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Aarik Wilson took first place in the triple jump at the US Track & Field Olympic Trials yesterday, setting the record at Hayward Field (Eugene, Ore) with a jump over 57 feet. A-Dub was a 10-time All-American while at IU.David Neville (pictured above) qualified for the Olympics by placing 3rd in the 400 m with a career best 44.61. The five-time All-American was a BigTen Champion in both the 200 and 400 in 2006. He forfeited his collegiate status when he signed a professional contract with Nike, but later graduated from Indiana University in 2007.

Christina Loukas won a spot on the Olympic team, thus joining six other divers with Indiana ties. The national training center moved to Indy after the Americans failed to win a diving medal (in Athens) for the first time since 1912. Other notable divers include Thomas Finchum (18) of Indy, David Boudia (19) of Noblesville, Mary Beth Dunnichay (15) of Elwood, Kelci Bryant (19), Ariel Rittenhouse (17), and Haley Ishimatsu (15).