Mike Pence wins Straw Poll

Indiana Representative Mike Pence gained more votes than any other Republican at Iowa's annual Values Voter Summit.

The socially conservative meeting suggests Pence as a serious GOP candidate to run for president in 2012, pulling in nearly a quarter of the votes. Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin also placed in the top five. Those casting ballots also listed their top issues as: government spending, healthcare overhaul, national security, religious liberty and abortion.

Indy ranks #1 Sexually Satisfied City

A recent survey from Men’s Health magazine released a list this week of “sexually satisfied” cities, as well as those who fare not so well. They looked at a number of statistical factors like birth rates, sales of sex toys and condoms, and rates of sexually transmitted diseases.

Just a few hours away on I-70 Columbus, Ohio grabs the runnerup spot. Take a jog up I-69 where Ft Wayne ranks #3 or jump on I-74 where Cincy places #4 on the list. Rounding out the top ten is Chicago, just a short trip up I-65. Must be something in the water?

Reds' Homer, BP top Dodgers

It had been 5 years since Cincinnati had even won a game in Los Angeles; Homer Bailey and Brandon Phillips broke that defeated streak Friday with 7 strong innings of 4-hit ball and all 3 RBIs powered by the second basemen.  Now, thanks to Joey Votto and Bronson Arroyo's heroics on Sunday, they have a series victory in LA. The MVP front-runner drove in three runs - including a go-ahead, opposite-field HR in the 6th - while starting pitcher Arroyo earned his 14th win, tying him with Chris Carpenter for 3rd-most in the NL. Speaking of the Cardinals, the Reds maintain a 3+ game lead over STL with 38 games remaining in 2010.

Hoosier Hoops Doubleheader

The instra-state rivalries will heat up next year with the Crossroads Classic, featuring Indiana's top four basketball programs going head-to-head in Indianapolis. Starting in 2011, Indiana University will play Notre Dame (after 69 previous contests) and Purdue will match-up against NCAA runner-up Butler. In 2012, IU will play BU and ND plays PU.

Indy shines amidst nation crippled by recession

Downtown Indianapolis is in the midst of a multi-billion dollar construction boom. As many as 78 projects totaling $3.3B are being invested in the city as renovations are underway in both public and private sectors. The convention center, government buildings and the new Wishard Memorial Hospital are supported by public funds; Methodist, Riley, Marriott and NCAA HQ are all funded privately.
Of course this is not indicative of the US economy, where its difficult to find any leader willing to develop right now. Instead, Indianapolis is driven to succeed because of its own growth. Specifically, one rapidly developing spot in Indy is SoBro (South Broad Ripple), the area around 54th Street and the Monon Trail... a beautiful mix of art, culture and community.

Noblesville named Best Places to Retire finalist

With no beaches, no mountains, and only a few celebs, Noblesville has picked up a nomination as one of the cheapest places to retire [MSN's Best Places study performed by Bert Spurling]
Also on the list were Mount Vernon, Washington; Rogers, Arkansas; Moon Township, Pennsylvania and Gainesville, Florida.
This recent nod will only further the rapid growth of Hamilton County. Since 2006 we've been touted as the best area by BusinessWeek, Forbes, CNN, MSN and the NBA.

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.

USA beats UK

BP still gets last laugh by killing our Gulf Coast  

Fishers ranks #1

I know I sound like a broken record, but its worth noting that another media outlet has ranked Fishers as the best place to live in America. This time we've received the title of "most affordable suburb" which follows a long line of similar accolades in recent years. Not only is Fishers healthy, safe, smart, fast, affordable and rapidly expanding -- its also fun!

Ken Griffey Junior retires

The greatest baseball player of our generation has decided to hang up his glove and spend the rest of his days with his family. Junior, the son of former Indianapolis Indians and Cincinnati Reds slugger Ken Griffey Sr, first burst onto the scene in 1989. Twenty-two seasons later, with 13 All-Star appearances, 10 Golden Gloves, 7 Silver Slugger awards, 3 HR Derby championships and the 1997 MVP - he will go down in history as one of the greatest players ever, both offensively and defensively. His last hit was a walk-off single on May 20 and he currently sits 5th on the all-time HRs list (behind Bonds, Aaron, Ruth, and Mays).

Purdue wins 3rd NCAA title

The Purdue Women's Golf team won a national championship, the third* title in school history. Although leading by 7 strokes entering the final round, that lead was squandered to just 1 after Maude-Aimee LeBlanc bogeyed hole #18.

SoCal had a chance to tie it with a 10-foot birdie attempt on the final hole but the putt missed right. Since 1993, either a Pac10 school or Duke had won every national title.

*The other two NCAA Championships were the 1999 Women's Basketball team and the 1961 Men's Golf squad. They still trail IU by 20.

RunnerUp Champs

So far in 2010, Lawrence Central has lost to Brebeuf 3 times in County, including runner-up champions in both Golf and Baseball. Sure high school is a much smaller scale than the NFL, Olympics, NCAA basketball, WNBA, Confederation Cup and yes, even minor league hockey - the commonality is they're all teams in the § galaxy that have been to the championship this past year only to lose.

Update: Chalk up 2 more: Notre Dame LaX just lost to Duke in the Natl championship and LC Boys Track placed runner-up at State - but hey, at least the Girls won!
Update #2: LC football lost the State Championship to Fishers Tigers. The curse continues!