2010 § Bracketology

Two classic Bracket Buster games tonight: Conference USA has Memphis@UAB fighting for a 2nd conference bid (UTEP) and the mighty Big East features UConn@Notre Dame, vying for an 8th conference bid. And even better match-ups tonight: Duke at College Park and Kansas State at Lawrence. 
Mississippi State has the SEC West on lock due to the season-opener win in Oxford Jan 9th. The 2nd place Rebels would need to win at least 2 more games to have a chance: LSU and @Ark. Isn't it weird how they beat IU in Puerto Rico, then Kansas St and almost beat another top-10 Villanova in November?  But no quality conference wins? ouch.
These teams are in: Florida, Clemson, Louisville, G.Tech, FSU, Wake Forest, Marquette, Notre Dame, OK St, Illinois, Saint Marys
The Last 4 in: UAB, Dayton, Va Tech and San Diego State
Which means these teams will probably not get an invite: UConn, Mississippi St, Rhode Island, Ole Miss, Charlotte, Seton Hall, Minnesota, Memphis, ASU.

Fishers Golf ranks #2 in the nation

Livability is the latest publication to rank the Indy community among the best, this time for greatest golf courses in America, narrowly missing out on the #1 spot to Eugene, Oregon. The survey found that "central Indiana's gently rolling countryside are perfectly suited for great golf." My home course is River Glen, so I'm a bit partial to which one is best, but neighbors Plum Creek and Prairie View offer beautiful scenery too - as long as the White River isn't flooding it. Brookshire, Stoney Creek, Gray Eagle, Ironwood, Hawthornes, Pebble Brook, Sahm, Fox Prairie and Forest Park are all within a few miles as well.

Oh yeah, I've heard that Purgatory and Crooked Stick are decent courses too.

Indy Real Estate ranked #1

CNN has once again ranked Indianapolis the most affordable place to live in America. Fishers and Carmel have received numerous similar awards in recent years, and Noblesville is sure to follow. Hamilton County is also the #1 healthiest county in the state, defined by "quality of life" and "health risks".

Indy Airport ranked #1

JD Power ranked North American airports based on customer satisfaction: accessibility, food, facilities, security, check-in and baggage claim. Indianapolis International Airport got the top award amongst airports under 10 million yearly passengers.

The fact that we're included amongst "small" airports is a blessing considering our population ranks us the 12th largest American city. I guess many of the surrounding cities (Cincinnati, Chicago, Detroit) consume a large portion of the trans-continental connecting flights, thus reducing Indy's traffic.

106th & Keystone recognized as nation's top cement structure of 2009

The Portland Cement Association will present the National Award of Excellence in Phoenix next month to American Structurepoint, an Indianapolis construction company that designed the intersection in Hamilton County. The overall cost of Keystone Parkway cost Carmel $112 Million, with new intersections built at 106th, 116th, 126th, 131st, 136th Streets and Carmel Drive. Still no word on whether the speed limit for the virtual highway will remain 40 MPH.

Americans in the 2010 Winter Olympics

Some of the stars you may remember from 2006 include Shaun "Flying Tomato" White, Bode Miller and Apolo Ohno. By now, you've probably also heard of Lindsey Vonn and Chani Davis.  Some other athletes NBC will surely focus on: ice skater Tanith Belbin, hockey player Natalie Darwitz, XC skier Kikkan Randall and skeletoneer Noelle Pikus-Pace...

But my favorite story so far is that of the US bobsled team, and how the driver of the 'Night Train' was legally blind until recent surgery. His commitment to feeling the track - rather than seeing it - has led to the Americans being heavy favorites in a sport they haven't won since 1948. He keeps his helmet visor intentionally blurred to remind himself that steering the sled by memory is better. 

XLiV mirror: Reggie, Pierre, Peyton, and a Purdue QB

In Superbowl 44, the Conference Champ and #1 seed will feature a Reggie (Wayne and Bush), a Pierre (Garçon and Thomas), a Peyton (Manning and Sean Payton) and a Boilermaker QB (Curtis Painter and Drew Brees). New Orleans Saints have 2 Hoosier return specialists: Tracy Porter playing CB and Courtney Roby. The kickoff return man has multiple touchdowns this season after being released from the Colts early last year. Further making Roby a local icon: he graduated from North Central (attended Lawrence North), has siblings at IU, Cathedral and Carmel - and also lives in Geist.

i69 - Exit 10

What are they gonna call this area? 

Exit 10, I-69: Fishers supports everything south of the highway but Noblesville supports everything north. State Road 238 is being renamed 'Southeastern' Way, which is not only the area's high school name but also the direction 238 travels. 'Olio' is ruled out because that's what they call the area down on 116th St (Caslers is a nice IU bar). It probably wouldn't be 'Geist', especially after the residents just lost a property battle to Fishers.
My vote is 'Deer Creek', paying homage to the natural terrain and the original shopping center that launched too early (Amish Furniture?) and the Music Center, which was later renamed by corporate whores. I have a feeling this area will become more than just a folksy town with all these new med/tech parks in the neighborhood. There needs to be distinction from actual-Fishers and actual-Noblesville.

Peyton Manning wins 4th MVP

As we enter the new decade with the Pacers on an 8-game losing streak and the Hoosiers undefeated in BigTen play, I wanted to keep my streak going of passing on tomorrow's news: Peyton Manning will win an NFL-record 4th MVP and the six Pro Bowlers mentioned below will also include Bethea but none of them will be available to play due to XLiV.

Daniel Kirkwood, American hero

IU Mathematics professor from 1856 to 1886 was fundamental in proving theorums regarding celestial objects. Notably, Kirkwood's law says that

"The square of the number of rotations made by a planet during one revolution around the sun, is proportional to the cube of the diameter of its sphere of attraction; or ."

His advancement in astronomy led to the campus Observatory being named after him, as well as Kirkwood Hall and Kirkwood Ave.

Galaxy of Stars update

Here is a rundown of the previous week's news:

First, former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis got the axe. Then the Colts win their 21st consecutive regular season game against the white-hot Titans. Then Greg Oden is done for the season and All-Star Danny Granger tears his plantar fascia. Then Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate announce their plans to enter the NFL draft. Then Tom Crean gets his 200th win, and first "big road win" by defeating Pittsburgh @ MSG in the Jimmy V Classic. Finally, Notre Dame hires 2009 Coach of the Year Brian Kelly as the new coach.

Now I'm left contemplating this site's new banner.

Colts in 2010 ProBowl & SB

We all know that Manning, Clark, Wayne, Freeney, Mathis and Saturday are the best at their position.

Antonie Bethea (2nd-best among AFC FS's in both tackles and interceptions) should get in behind Ed Reed and Brian Dawkins. Melvin Bullitt is available on Special Teams. Pat McAfee, Gary Brackett, Raheem Brock and Clint Session all deserve consideration too. Now if you're thinking "whoa, Clint Session? c'mon Pete, quit bein a homer" - Sessions has 76 tackles (2nd among all AFC players) and returned one last week to clinch the game. Fun Fact: Only 3 AFC players have at least 60 tackles and a score, rookie CB Jacob Lacey also holds that honor.