Schrockstar § Galaxy of Stars

UPDATE on Manti Te'o: Heisman Trophy Runner-Up Lott Trophy Maxwell Award Chuck Bednarik Award Walter Camp Award Bronko Nagurski Trophy Butkus Award Lombardi Award ARA Sportsmanship Award 1st Team All-American

Hoosiers beat Tarheels in big matchups this week, both basketball and soccer. Duke emerges as the biggest obstacle for #6, while the Final-4 awaits the Army on their quest for #8.  David Woods tweets Indiana has a case for college sports' best athlete in soccer (Eriq Zavaleta via Westfield), Basketball (Cody Zeller via Washington), Track ( Andy Bayer via Leo ) and Field ( Derek Drouin ).  Additionally, South Bend has the best football player and women's basketball player (Skylar Diggins).

Tonight in Brooklyn, the undefeated #1 Hoosiers take on Georgetown, who just upset #11 UCLA last night. Speaking of upsets, Butler spanked UNC Tarheels in the Maui Invitational today after pulling out a miraculous buzzer-beating 3-pointer last night over Marquette. In other Indiana hoops, Purdue's lone win so far is against Hofstra (losing to Bucknell, 'Nova and Oregon St). Tomorrow night, LC opens the HS bball season against LN. Traditionally, the Wildcats are the perennial powerhouse but the Bears will have something to say about that.  Meanwhile, the LC Bears football team wraps up their season at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday in the IHSAA 5A State Title game vs FtWayne Snider. The coveted Mr Football award is up for grabs and some voters have QB Drake Christian on their ballot. Another football award awaiting a victor is the Heisman, which typically goes to the QB (or RB) of the best team in college football. If Notre Dame can beat Southern Cal on Saturday, I expect LB

The first 67 miles are completed and will be open to the public starting November 19. Sections 4 and 5 should be completed within the next 2 years; then after the road hits Bloomington, Indiana will have to find another billion dollars to complete the stretch all the way to Indianapolis. I'm all for this project EXCEPT the re-numbering starting over in Evansville.  That means my home, Exit 0 is now known as Exit 200. 2012 is the end of an era, unfortunately.

There was Katie Douglas courtside, epicenter of the final couple seconds of Championship-clinching Game 4. She hadn't scored in weeks, but she deserved this moment just as much as Tamika Catchings, who won Finals MVP. When the injured star was out, the rest of the team stepped up and overcame tough obstacles to bring home the championship. This marks the 2nd professional championship won in Indianapolis this year (Superbowl) and first pro basketball title since the ABA championships in the early 70s. Coach Tom Crean reminds us MSU, UM and O$U are the current champs, and while it's nice to be in the (natl) title conversation the real challenge is improving everyday... Trickle-down leadership, starting with Watford. One reporter asked him to comment on the state of basketball in the Midwest, with Louisville, UK, and Michigan all contending. He then reminded her of O$U, Illinois and the rest of the B1G as well as Cincy, Butler and Notre Dame. Speaking of ND, for the 4th st

The worst kept secret was released today: Indiana Hoosiers basketball is the top team in the land. Not only are they returning all 5 starters from last year, but Sheehey is the best 6th man in the nation and Yogi adds backcourt depth. Its an embarrassment of riches that wasn't exactly easy; Coach Tom Crean has pieced together a title contender in just 4 years after inheriting a program with 1 (former) walk-on. IHSAA football sectionals begin this week, and look who is ranked #1... da Bears. Lawrence Central went to the title game in 2010 but lost to Fishers at Lucas Oil stadium while Mr Football Tre Roberson eventually took his talents to Bloomington.  QB Drake Christen leads the state's most prolific offense (42 ppg) while A-Rod and Isaiah Townsend own the run game and a solid D known for shutting-out opponents all season. Eyes will be on the sectional semifinal next week, where LC looks to avenge last year's loss to 2011 State Champ, Carmel Greyhounds. Speaking of

Breaking News!!! Indy suburb ranked best place to live in America ! You'd think I'd get tired of publishing the same story over and over again, but nope!

1992 wasn't just the birth of .com, .net, .org, .edu and .gov , or the first time audio & video was ever 'multicast',  but also the phrase "surfing the internet" was first used, and the Zen and Art of the Internet was written just as the total 'hosts' reached one million. 

It almost seemed like we were beginning to lose a lil bit of luster there, what- with it being a whole 2 years since the (non-sports-related) spotlight was last shone on Indianapolis . But alas, another survey says that Naptown is the most affordable place to live in America. Lucky me!

The fastest thrower in baseball was officially named the Cincinnati Reds' closer on May 20th, the day of our our Lord Sun. After 28 innings thus far, he still hasn't allowed an earned run, only 9 walks, 50 Ks, a .57 WHIP, 5 saves and a perfect 4-0 record. Meet Aroldis Chapman.

Phil Wheeler threw his first and GLVC Tournament's 1st no-no in the conference semi-final on Saturday. The Greyhounds, having beaten Quincy, Lewis and now Rockhurst, face Northern Kentucky at 3:30p EST today in Evansville, Indiana.

After a 6-month hiatus I am declaring myself back!  My excuse is I couldn't comfortably blog with the lack of hardware (ie. physical keyboard) and connectivity (ie. LAN), but now that I have those back you can expect more of my rambling nonsense... Let's start with the NFL Draft - Colts own the #1 pick and its no doubt they'll go with Andrew Luck . After that, its RGIII, then who knows. Well Jim Irsay is hosting a contest via Twitter that lets anyone guess the 32 picks (in order) to win a BMW. I entered my picks Tuesday and here's what I got: 1. Luck (Colts) 2. Griffin (Redskins) 3. Kalil (Vikings) 4. Richardson (Browns) 5. Claiborne (Bucs) 6. Blackmon (Rams) 7. Gilmore (Jaguars) 8. Tannehill (Dolphins) 9. Cox (Panthers) 10. Barron (Bills) 11. Keuchly (Chiefs) 12. Ingram (Seahawks) 13. DeCastro (Cardinals) 14. Floyd (Cowboys) 15. Kirkpatrick (Eagles) 16. Poe (Jets) 17. Upshaw (Benglas) 18. Reiff (Chargers) 19. Wright (Bears)

On the first day of the year, the the Colts loss @ Jax ensured a prize in Andrew Luck. On the second day, the Greatest NFL GM of all time was fired. And his son. And the whole Coaching staff. Next, Peyton's younger brother beats Peyton's arch nemesis in the Superbowl that Peyton brought and Indy hosted marvelously. Then College all-stars strutted their stuff in the annual Combine. And yet through all this, Peyton Manning's health has been dominating the headlines and airwaves while the owner hints at cutting the greatest QB? and Pierre Garcon, Dallas Clark, Joe Addai and Jeff Saturday?