Indy features nations best young pro studs

1. Indy: Paul George and Andrew Luck
2. Washington: Bryce Harper and RG3
3. San Fran: Buster Posey and Colin Kaepernick
4.  L.A.: Mike Trout and Blake Griffin
5. Houston: JJ Watt and James Harden
6. Chicago: Derrick Rose and Jonathan Toews
7. Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby and Andrew McCutchen
8. Tampa: Steven Stamkos and Doug Martin
9. ATL: Julio Jones and Justin Upton
10. Dallas: Dez Bryant and Yu Darvish

Carmel hosts Roundabout conference

Traffic gurus from around the world are gathering in Carmel, Indiana this week in the 7th annual International Conference on Roundabouts. Both New York and Japan (pop. 19M and 125M) have fewer roundabouts than Carmel (pop. 79,000) - sent their best transportation engineers here this week to study the awesome effects it has on a community. For example, the Australian state of Victoria began building roundabouts in 1970 when traffic fatalities peaked at more than 1,000 per year. Two years ago, that number had been reduced to 300 while the population more than doubled. Melbourne now has over 5,000 roundabouts.

Not only do they save lives, but with less congestion and rarely stopping, travel time is also cut down - especially during the winter with icy roads.  Carmel is currently building its 69th since 1999 (131st & River Road) - this one located at 96th & Commerce Drive.

Indiana Coaches to Lead USA Basketball

Purdue's Matt Painter was selected as head coach and Butler's Brad Stevens as an assistant for the U.S. men's basketball team that will play in August's World University Games in Shenzhen, China. USA Basketball also selected Missouri State coach Cuonzo Martin, a former Purdue player and assistant coach, as an assistant. Selections were made by the USA Basketball junior national team committee, chaired by Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.
The US has claimed a medal in every World University Games since beginning play in 1965, and captured a record 13 golds, three silvers and three bronze medals in the 19 WUGs in which a USA Basketball squad has competed. Overall, the USA owns a 131-8 record. The United States captured six of the first seven gold medals awarded in World University Games competition and strung together six consecutive gold medals from 1989 through 1999. Most recently, the 2009 team earned the bronze medal after finishing 6-1 and losing by one point to Russia in the semifinals.
The University Games will be Aug. 12-23. Training camp to select the 12-member team will be July 30-Aug. 8 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

via IndyStar

Indianapolis HS amateurs #1

As of 2012, Indianapolis has been represented in 8 consecutive NBA drafts (add JuJuan Johnson + Marquis Teague to the pic below)

Indy, the king of basketball, has produced more than a dozen NBA players since 2006: Gordon Hayward, Eric Gordon Jr, Mike Conley Jr, Josh McRoberts, Courtney Lee, George Hill, Jeff and Marquis Teague. 3 more - Greg Oden, Rodney Carney and JuJuan Johnson - were drafted but currently don't see any action. Zach Randolph and Jared Jeffries do not qualify based on proximity and age. The same can probably be said for the Zellers and Plumlees. 2006 was the first year after the minimum age changed from 18 to 19. Since then, LA's amateur talent includes Mario Chalmers, Russell Westbrook, Robin and Brook Lopez, Demar DeRozan, Spencer Hawes, Chase Budinger, Jrue Holiday.

Golden Tate wins Biletnikoff

Golden Tate had another amazing game (3 TDs, 10 catches for 200 yards) but Notre Dame's season fell incomplete at 6-6, with all but two games coming down to the final play. The Halloween game in San Antonio versus Washington State wasn't really a contest and the season opening shutout over Nevada is an indication Charlie can execute a great gameplan, when given more than a few weeks of prep time. The Wolfpack had an NCAA-record THREE 1,000-yard rushers this year. Does Irish AD Jack Swarbrick accept a bowl bid?

Shoppers turned out in droves this weekend looking for bargains in a rough economy. Police had to breakup a fight at Castleton and Greenfield malls. In Muncie, hundreds of Toys-R-Us shoppers waited in their warm cars before rushing the doors right at 5am, cutting everyone in line. Speaking of getting screwed, the Indiana State 5A Championship at Lucas Oil stadium went into a first overtime after the Warriors scored a game tying TD with :01 second remaining. If IHSAA allowed instant replay the catch would have clearly shown the receiver's foot was out of bounds, but the game went on and eventually into double OT before Warren Central outlasted Carmel, 42-36. Speaking of Warren Central... a 26-yr-old substitute teacher has been arrested for sexting a HS student. This is the thousandth reported case of a similar incident in the past few years yet the IndyStar commentors have an uproar over government intrusion issues. She was 16 and the male teacher admitted to having sex with her.

10 years later, Conseco still ahead of the curve

Modern NBA arenas (Charlotte, Ft Worth, San Antonio and Memphis - all cities without a public smoking ban) are modeling themselves after Conseco Fieldhouse. The shrine to Indiana basketball is part-museum, part-temple. USA Today called it "a cathedral to basketball" and Amusement Business Magazine called it "the Camden Yards of Basketball". The structure pays homage to Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse and features memorabilia spanning decades of high school, collegiate and professional icons such as John Wooden, Oscar Robertson, Bobby Knight, Larry Bird and 3 ABA Championships.

Tanker Explosion at I-69 Exit 0

Sampsonite Rejects -- Where are they now?

Here's a look at nine players that were on IU's basketball rosters in the last couple years...

1. JAMARCUS ELLIS --- The 6-5 senior forward is playing at Oklahoma City University, the No. 1 ranked NAIA team in the nation. He's the second leading scorer on the team through five games with a 15.8 scoring average and he's averaging 4.5 rebounds. He has made two starts and is averaging 32.5 minutes per game. His Oklahoma City University team has a couple of other familiar names on it, too. Former Illinois player Rodney Alexander is a senior forward, as is 6-10 senior center Ricardo De Ben from Texas Tech.

2. DeANDRE THOMAS --- When he left Indiana, everyone said that DeAndre the Giant was headed to Robert Morris. There was some confusion, however, between the university in Pennsylania and the college in the Chicago area. The truth is Thomas is at Robert Morris College, an NAIA school in Chicago. The athletic department website doesn't give season statistics but a few stories on-line indicate that Thomas has had a couple of double-digit scoring nights in the early going. He had 14 against Calumet College of St. Joseph and 12 versus Indiana Wesleyan. The Eagles are 5-2 at this point of the season. The website lists him at 6-8 but doesn't give his weight. He still looks very large in the individual photo on the page.

3. BRANDON McGEE --- Brandon is at Auburn where he's sitting out this season and then will have three years of eligibility remaining. He's listed on Auburn's roster as a 6-7 220 pound sophomore.

4. JORDAN CRAWFORD --- Jordan is at Xavier, where he is also sitting out this season and then will have three years of eligibility remaining. He's listed at 6-4, 195.

5. ELI HOLMAN --- Eli followed Ray McCallum to Detroit Mercy and the 6-9, 250-pounder is also sitting out this season and will then have three years of eligiblity. There was talk that Holman might find a way to get eligible right away this season but that did not materialize.

6. ARMON BASSETT --- Bassett originally signed to play for Mike Davis at Indiana. Now, he will play his final two seasons for Davis at Alabama-Birmingham. The 6-1, 175-pounder will sit out this season and then have two years remaining.

7. XAVIER KEELING --- X played for IU in Kelvin Sampson's first season and then transferred to Wallace State (Ala.) Community College. He then transferred to Detroit Mercy when Ray McCallum became the coach, and through five games is the Titans' leading scorer with a 12.8 average. He is also averaging 6.6 rebounds. He had 21 points and nine rebounds the other night in a 62-57 victory over Saint Louis University. He's listed on the roster as a 6-7, 235-pound junior forward.

8. JOEY SHAW --- Joey played a year of JUCO ball out west after leaving Indiana following Sampson's first season. He's now listed as a 6-6, 205-pound junior forward at the University of Nevada. He's averaging 9.8 points and 4 rebounds in 21.8 minutes of playing time for the Wolfpack. He has a season-high 16 points against San Diego, and had 15 points in a 79-71 victory over Oregon State.

9. BEN ALLEN --- Allen played two seasons at Indiana before sitting out last year at Saint Mary's in California. This season, the 6-11, 250-pound center is averaging 5.4 points and 3.6 rebounds in 14 minutes of action per game. He hit double figures in scoring with 10 against Fresno State and 10 points and six rebounds against Vanguard. The Gaels are 5-1 this season.

via Hutch

New school Pacers return to their roots

The Pacers begin anew tonight tipping off their preseason home opener at The Pepsi Coliseum, a house that has welcomed Mel Daniels, George McGinnis, Roger Brown, Slick Leonard, Connie Hawkins, Rick Barry, Julius Erving, Artis Gilmore, George Gervin and hoisted 3 ABA Titles. Larry Bird is actually carrying the torch of another bird... Bill Byrd. Now 62 and designing websites, IndyStar relives the past with him some 30+ years ago. Here's a nice excerpt...

After the 1973 season, the ABA champion Pacers played the NBA champion Knicks at a time when the leagues were competing for players. The Knicks of Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere and Bill Bradley won the NBA title, beating the Los Angeles Lakers with Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain.

"The Knicks came into town the night before and we had a little event, and Bill Bradley got up and kind of made fun of Indianapolis and the Pacers. The night of the game, Roger Brown said, 'Let me have Bradley.' "Roger hit him with 26 points in the first half and by the end of the third quarter, we had them down 17." The Pacers won and moved into Market Square Arena for the '74-'75 season. By 1976, the ABA and NBA had finally merged.

33 Olympians with Indiana ties, including 15 from IU and ND

DIVING

David Boudia
• Age: 19.
• Hometown: Noblesville
• Note: Performing world's most difficult list, he won World Cup bronze medal in February.
• Schedule: Synchro platform Aug. 11, platform prelims and semifinals Aug. 22, platform final Aug. 23.

Kelci Bryant
• Age: 19.
• Hometown: Carmel
• Note: Illinois native was state champ for Harrison High. She and Ariel Rittenhouse won World Cup bronze in synchro springboard.
• Schedule: Synchro 3-meter Aug. 10.

Mary Beth Dunnichay
• Age: 15.
• Hometown: Elwood
• Note: Youngest U.S. Olympian won Pan Am Games bronze in synchro platform with Haley Ishimatsu.
• Schedule: Synchro platform Aug. 12.

Thomas Finchum
• Age: 18.
• Hometown: Indianapolis
• Note: Nearly made Olympics as tiny 14-year-old. He has grown (to 6-1), and so has his skill.
• Schedule: Synchro platform Aug. 11, platform prelims and semifinals Aug. 22, platform final Aug. 23.

Haley Ishimatsu
• Age: 15.
• Hometown: Indianapolis
• Note: Californian is internationally experienced despite age. Medal contender in platform and synchro.
• Schedule: Synchro platform Aug. 12, platform prelims and semifinals Aug. 20, platform final Aug. 21.

Christina Loukas
• Age: 22.
• Hometown: Bloomington
• Note: IU diver nearly medaled at World Cup, finishing fourth on springboard.
• Schedule: 3-meter prelims Aug. 15, semifinals Aug. 16, final Aug. 17.

Ariel Rittenhouse
• Age: 17.
• Hometown: Indianapolis
• Note: Californian is upholding family tradition. Her mother and uncle were Olympians.
• Schedule: Synchro 3-meter Aug. 10.

TRACK & FIELD

Amy Yoder Begley
• Age: 30.
• Hometown: Kendallville
• Note: East Noble and Arkansas grad made courageous run to qualify in 10,000.
• Schedule: Final Aug. 15.

Amber Campbell
• Age: 27.
• Hometown: Indianapolis
• Note: Pike grad was second in hammer throw at U.S. trials. She is a personal trainer in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
• Schedule: Prelims Aug. 17 and final Aug. 20.

Leroy Dixon
• Age: 24.
• Hometown: South Bend
• Note: Former state champ won 400 relay gold at 2007 worlds. He is in relay pool again.
• Schedule: 400 relay prelims Aug. 21 and final Aug. 22.

David Neville
• Age: 24.
• Hometown: Merrillville
• Note: Ex-IU 400-meter sprinter trains under coach John Smith in Los Angeles. Could win gold medal in 1,600 relay.
• Schedule: 400 heats Aug. 17, semifinals Aug. 19 and final Aug. 21; 1,600 relay heats Aug. 22 and final Aug. 23.

Kara Patterson
• Age: 22.
• Hometown: Vancouver, Wash.
• Note: Purdue javelin thrower's 202-foot toss ranks No. 2 in U.S. history. She won U.S. trials.
• Schedule: Prelims Aug. 18 and final Aug. 21.

Aarik Wilson
• Age: 25.
• Hometown: Fallon, Nev.
• Note: Former NCAA indoor champ at IU. Ranked No. 4 in world in triple jump in 2007 and won U.S. trials in 2008.
• Schedule: Prelims Aug. 17 and final Aug. 21.

GYMNASTICS

Samantha Peszek
• Age: 16.
• Hometown: McCordsville
• Note: Member of 2007 world champs. Fourth in all-around at nationals and Olympic trials.
• Schedule: team prelims Aug. 10 and final Aug. 13.

Bridget Sloan
• Age: 16.
• Hometown: Pittsboro
• Note: After being alternate at 2007 worlds, she made team at final selection camp.
• Schedule: team prelims Aug. 10 and final Aug. 13.

FENCING

Kelley Hurley
• Age: 20.
• Hometown: San Antonio
• Note: Notre Dame female fencer is NCAA and junior world champion in epee.
• Schedule: Individual epee Aug. 13.

Gerek Meinhardt
• Age: 18.
• Hometown: San Francisco
• Note: Notre Dame recruit has Chinese mother. In 2006, at 16, he became youngest U.S. foil champion.
• Schedule: Individual foil Aug. 13.

Mariel Zagunis
• Age: 23.
• Hometown: Beaverton, Ore.
• Note: Defending women's gold medalist in sabre sat out at Notre Dame this year to prepare for Olympics.
• Schedule: Individual sabre Aug. 9 and team sabre Aug. 14.

SOCCER

Shannon Boxx
• Age: 30.
• Hometown: Redondo Beach, Calif.
• Note: Notre Dame graduate is among world's top defensive midfielders.
• Schedule: Aug. 6 vs. Norway, Aug. 9 vs. Japan, Aug. 12 vs. New Zealand, Aug. 15 quarterfinals, Aug. 18 semifinals, Aug. 21 medal round.

Lauren Cheney
• Age: 20.
• Hometown: Indianapolis
• Note: UCLA forward from Ben Davis replaced injured Abby Wambach. A potent scorer near the goal.
• Schedule: Aug. 6 vs. Norway, Aug. 9 vs. Japan, Aug. 12 vs. New Zealand, Aug. 15 quarterfinals, Aug. 18 semifinals, Aug. 21 medal round.

Kate Markgraf
• Age: 31.
• Hometown: Rochester Hills, Mich.
• Note: Three-time Olympian from Notre Dame gave birth to son in 2006.
• Schedule: Aug. 6 vs. Norway, Aug. 9 vs. Japan, Aug. 12 vs. New Zealand, Aug. 15 quarterfinals, Aug. 18 semifinals, Aug. 21 medal round.

VOLLEYBALL

Lloy Ball
• Age: 36.
• Hometown: Woodburn
• Note: IPFW graduate didn't expect to be around so along. This will be his fourth Olympics, and he wants first medal.
• Schedule: Aug. 10 vs. Venezuela, Aug. 12 vs. Italy, Aug. 14 vs. Bulgaria, Aug. 16 vs. China, Aug. 18 vs. Japan, Aug. 20 quarterfinal, Aug. 22 semifinals, Aug. 24 medal round.

FIELD HOCKEY

Kayla Bashore
• Age: 25.
• Hometown: Shoemakersville, Pa.
• Note: The 5-2 midfielder was Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American at IU. Born in South Korea.
• Schedule: Aug. 10 vs. Argentina, Aug. 12 vs. Japan, Aug. 13 vs. Germany, Aug. 15 vs. New Zealand, Aug. 18 vs. Great Britain, Aug. 20 pool classification, Aug. 22 medal round.

BASKETBALL

Tamika Catchings
• Age: 29.
• Hometown: Indianapolis
• Note: Fever forward rounding into shape from Achilles injury. She won gold medal with 2004 team.
• Schedule: Aug. 9 vs. Czech Republic, Aug. 11, vs. China, Aug. 13 vs. Mali, Aug. 15 vs. Spain, Aug. 17 vs. New Zealand, Aug. 19 quarterfinal, Aug. 21 semifinals, Aug. 23 medal round.

FOREIGN OLYMPIANS

Those with Indiana ties on other countries' Olympic teams (with their age and the nation they are representing):

Player	Comment
Tully Bevilaqua, 36, Australia	Fever point guard was on Aussies' 2006 world championship team.
Mariangee Bogado, 24, Venezuela	Former IU softball pitcher will open against Team USA on Aug. 12.
Thomas Chamney, 24, Ireland	Ex-Notre Dame runner, who was sixth in 800 at 2006 NCAAs, had popular blog on Internet.
Candace Chapman, 25, Canada	Former Notre Dame midfielder, born in Trinidad, won soccer bronze medal at 2007 Pan Am Games.
Sergiy Fesenko, 26, Ukraine	Third Olympics for distance freestyler. He was five-time swim All-American at IU.
Victoria Mitchell, 26, Australia	Butler graduate was NCAA champion in steeplechase, an event making Olympic debut.
Ria Percival, 18, New Zealand	Soccer midfielder for FC Indiana is based in West Lafayette.
Melissa Tancredi, 26, Canada	Former Notre Dame soccer All-American was Canada's top scorer in Olympic qualifying tourney.
Kateryna Zubkova, 20, Ukraine	IU's NCAA runner-up in 200 backstroke won two medals at swimming's short course worlds. Also Olympian in 2004.

Cut & Paste via IndyStar

Indiana Primary

I can't say I'm surprised Obama took the urban vote, but look how bad Billary did in Indy and Bloomington. lol! Also, Ron Paul's supporters are strongest in East Chicago & Ft. Wayne while weakest in Zionsville, Carmel, Fishers and Indy. Rich ppl don't want civil liberties?

Happy Leap Day!

The Indianapolis Colts enter the free agency signing period this morning with no intent on snatching-up any marquee players. In fact, since 2003 only 1 NFL free agent has been offered a contract by the Colts (Adam Vinatieri). The Colts draft so well they don't have to scramble for talent, and thus eliminating any risk of grabbing a player in haste.

Also, Colts owner Jim Irsay has expanded the horseshoe logo to the LPGA by sponsoring golfer Becky Lucidi (pictured). 

Are the Indiana Hoosiers looking for a new head coach? That all depends on how well Dan Dakich's team performs in the NCAA tournament. He's probably more than capable of coaching this squad, but I fear IU is looking for a big-name hire to lure the top recruits. If we've learned one thing from Purdon't this year is that you can put together a no-name-team of underclassmen and still contend for the conference title - as long as you emphasize the fundamentals like defense and ball control. Of course, these players aren't really 'no-namers', they're actually Indiana HS All-Stars, but the point is IU doesn't have to shoot for the moon to win. Prominent names that have been thrown around include Thad Matta, Rick Pitino and Rick Barnes. Lesser-known candidates on the radar include ex-Boiler Kevin Stallings, Washington State's Tony Bennett, Wright State's Brad Brownell, Baylor's Scott Drew and Xavier's Sean Miller.

The Indiana Pacers are dealing with more off-court troubles now that Shawne Williams' pal has been arrested for a Memphis murder. This news comes after a report that a woman was raped at Marquis Daniels' home last month, David Harrison failing a 3rd drug test, Jamaal Tinsley the target of a drive-by, Williams arrested for having no license/expired plates/possession of gun & weed, JT and 'Quisy beating up a club owner, Stephen Jackson firing a pistol and kicking a retard... and all this after the infamous brawl in Detroit. We make the Bengals look like choir boys.

Ex-Hoosiers, Gamblers and Babies

- Gerry DiNardo be joining Dave Revsine and Howard Griffith in the studio booth on the BigTen Network this fall. You probably don't care because you probably don't have DirectTV.

- Andre Owens is impressing new Pacers coach Jim O'Brien as they wrap up summer league play. Although Stevie Franchise and Brevin Knight are free agents, I think Larry is content with Jamaal until his contract runs out. The only way he'll be supplanted as starting PG is thru a major trade or next year's draft. They might be looking at picking up Jannero Pargo or Keith McLeod as well.

- The World Series of Poker ended today, and it really lived up to it's name. Jerry Yang, a 39-yr-old shrink from Laos took down 7 of the final 8 players at the final table which included a Brit, a Canuck, a Russian, a Vietnamese, an African and a Danish fellow. Yang took home $8.25 mil from the tournament that featured over 6,000 players with a $10k buy-in.

- A 17-yr-old girl from Indiana was on vacation in California this week and gave birth in a Denny's bathroom. She then stuffed the baby in the trash and tried denying it to her boyfriend and his parents. Police arrested the bloody girl and the baby is in good condition.

- A baby giraffe was born at the Indy Zoo this Sunday and he's already taller than me at 6'2".