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(09/27/07 4:00am)
Many people criticize Quentin Tarantino for borrowing ideas and spicing them up for a new generation while tipping his hat to the past. Sure, "Reservoir Dogs" felt a bit like Ringo Lam's "City of Fire," and yeah, "Jackie Brown" is based on an Elmore Leonard book, and OK, "Kill Bill" practically sprays its influences on the walls. "Death Proof," most directly influenced by the likes of "Vanishing Point" and a host of obscure slasher films, is further proof why those people should give it a rest. Tarantino continues to spin his influences into gold, nabbing old genres off the dust-coated shelf and making them relevant and exciting again. \nAlways one to bring iconic actors back to the forefront, Tarantino injects life and humor into Kurt Russell for the first time since "Tombstone." His Stuntman Mike starts out menacing with a twisted sense of perversion (especially in a re-instated black-and-white sequence), but his devolution into a whining, emotional mess near the conclusion of "Death Proof" is a sight to behold. The rest of Tarantino's cast, with the exception of a poor acting turn by director Eli Roth, is excellent. Long dialogue passages work perfectly, with actresses such as Rosario Dawson and Vanessa Ferlito injecting their own personalities into the proceedings, and stuntwoman Zoe Bell (as herself) is a breath of fresh air. \nThe real cause for celebration here for Tarantino fans is the 20-plus minutes of extra footage included in this edition. There's the extended black-and-white sequence outside a convenience store, as well as added dialogue between Sheriff Earl McGraw and his son and the missing (and pretty damn hot) lap-dance sequence between Ferlito and Russell. All in all, it's a more effective and comprehensive cut than the theatrical one, with Mary Elizabeth Winstead being able to flesh out (quite literally) her role as the cheerleader-uniformed Lee, and Tarantino freer with his own editing choices. \n"Grindhouse" failed notoriously at the box office last April, and in some ways the decision to split the experience in two for its initial DVD release smacks of a shameless ploy at getting the studio's money back. There are still some amusing bonus features here, such as a tribute to Tarantino's longtime editor Sally Menke and a slightly in-depth look at the real stunt drivers behind the wheel of the film's mind-blowing vehicular sequences. It should, however, be obvious to anyone that there will be a comprehensive "Grindhouse" edition sometime in the future. Here's to hoping it doesn't take as long to materialize as the "Whole Bloody Affair" edition of "Kill Bill" that we've been hearing about since 2004.
(09/27/07 12:06am)
Some people love to state the obvious.\nLook at Jerry Seinfeld – he made a career out of it. But sometimes, no matter how apparent something is, some people just need things pointed out to them.\nSo to put it gently, the Hoosiers haven’t been very good in Big Ten play of late. They haven’t had a conference record of .500 or better since 2001.\nIn the last five seasons, IU has gone a combined 7-33 in the Big Ten. The team’s winning percentage is barely hovering over the Mendoza line. The Hoosiers have been getting their wins out of the way early in the season, only to fall apart down the stretch like a certain lovable Chicago baseball team.\nIt’s been nearly four years since IU won a game in the month of November. But all of that is in the past, obviously. Everyone is aware that this is a new Hoosier team and a new season.\nBill Lynch and the Hoosiers have a conference schedule this season that most college coaches could only dream about. The Hoosiers are spared from playing the two toughest conference teams from last season – Ohio State and Michigan – who they lost to by a combined score of 78-6 in 2006.\nAlthough playing Michigan this year appears to be a guaranteed win if your school can field a team. The Wolverines season ended faster than you can say Mario Manningham. I don’t know why, but there is something almost euphoric about watching Lloyd Carr and Chad Henne exchange devastated expressions.\nWe’ve learned from Michigan that no out-of-conference game is a sure win, but the Hoosiers have slated where they are heavy the favorite. IU will host Ball State on Nov. 3 – if the Hoosiers can beat them, they will only need to win two conference games in order to become bowl eligible and fulfill their season-long goal to “Play 13.”\nA home loss to Illinois put a slight dent into IU’s bowl bumper, but nothing that a hammer and some elbow grease can’t fix.\nWhere will the other win come? I’d expect that the Hoosiers will be able to beat either Minnesota at home (Oct. 6) or Northwestern on the road (Nov. 10), if not both. IU will face the cream of the Big Ten back-to-back weekends in October when they play Penn State on Homecoming weekend and Wisconsin the next.\nThe most important game of every Big Ten season for the Hoosiers is the Old Oaken Bucket game against Purdue. The Boilermakers have destroyed the Hoosiers for the past decade in the rivalry game.\nThey’ve won the last five Bucket games and nine of the last 10. With IU’s recent resurgence, this year’s game could rekindle the recently uncompetitive rivalry.\nThe Hoosiers have their best chance in years to have a successful Big Ten season and reach their goal of playing in a bowl game. It doesn’t take an expert to realize that – I’m just stating the obvious.
(09/25/07 1:24am)
The IU men’s golf team shot its way to a third place finish at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate tournament this past weekend. \nHosted by the Hoosiers, the 15-team tournament took place at the Wolf Run Golf Club in Zionsville, Ind. The only two teams to finish ahead of Indiana at the par 71 course were Big Ten counterparts Penn State and Michigan.\nPenn State won the tournament with rounds of 292-284-286, posting a three-round total of 862. Michigan finished six shots behind, with a three-round total of 868, and the Hoosiers, with rounds of 287-286-296, finished one stroke back from the Wolverines.\nIU found itself in second place after day one of the tournament with 18 holes remaining. Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, their final round Sunday morning was the worst of their three rounds by a total of nine strokes and caused them to slip one position to third. \nJuniors Seth Brandon and Jorge Campillo both played well throughout the weekend tournament. \nIndividually, Brandon took home second place honors, posting rounds of 68-69-75. His three-round total of 212 was one under par for the course. Brandon finished just two strokes behind the tournament’s individual winner, Michigan’s Nick Pumford. \nCampillo finished fifth overall, and bounced back from a rough second round 76 with a final round 70 on Sunday morning. \nRounding out the rest of the Hoosiers’ starting five, sophomore Alex Martin finished in a tie for 24th, junior Drew Allenspach finished in a tie for 29th and senior Tad Sacheck finished in a tie for 50th. \nIU heads to Chicago next weekend to compete in the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational.
(09/25/07 1:16am)
High school senior Tyler Zeller made his official visit to Bloomington over the weekend to meet with the IU men’s basketball team and coach Kelvin Sampson. \n“It went really well,” Zeller said. “I knew some of the players before, but just got to spend time with them and coaches talking about the team.”\nBloomington was the second stop on Zeller’s four-school tour this fall. The prior weekend, Zeller and his family flew down to the University of North Carolina to visit coach Roy Williams and the Tar Heels. Zeller said IU and UNC are alike in his opinion.\n“They are very similar schools because they are basketball schools,” he said. “There is not as much focus on the football teams and everyone \nloves basketball.”\nZeller joined the team Saturday to attend the football game against Illinois.\n“The game was fun to go to, although the game was not a very good football game,” Zeller said. “I enjoyed walking around with the team and coaches. People recognized me and started yelling my name and things.”\nWhile Zeller appreciates the recognition, he said it can get old after \na while. \nZeller’s recruiting puzzle will not be complete until he makes his final two visits to Notre Dame and Purdue. \nHe has said from the beginning that he will take all four visits before making a decision one week after his final weekend at Purdue.
(09/25/07 1:11am)
It’s fair to say that since its inception, the quality of the programming on the Big Ten Network has been low. From the annoying commentary to the sub-par analysis, the only reason to watch the network is coverage of competition – which I have taken to watching with the television muted – along with two other factors. First is the presence of Dave Revsine, who was imported from ESPN, as lead anchor. The other is much more important for the world of sports and for the network, which is taking major strides in equality. The Big Ten Network, for all its faults, has the potential to revitalize interest in women’s athletics.\nThe Big Ten Women’s Show is a half hour dedicated to (obviously) women. For those 30 minutes, the network discusses only the actions and lives of female athletes, who are just as fierce as the men in the Big Ten. \nWhile the show might not be the most watched program, it is certainly a great addition to the channel’s line up, because for a great sports fan, more sports is good sports. The Big Ten Network is at least trying to reach those fans.\nThe unprecedented promise of the network to open its inaugural year with 40 percent of its programming committed to women’s athletics and to grant it 50 percent by its third year – a decision no doubt geared toward gender equality – left some skeptical. Would the network have trouble selling women’s competition? \nAlmost a month into the network’s existence, those skeptics’ remarks should be silenced. The upswing of women’s sports fans will be supplemented by the network, something that can benefit both parties.\nBut the greatest accomplishment that comes from airing such programming is that, hopefully, fans will begin to look for news concerning women’s athletics, instead of only going to ESPN.com and looking at the NCAA football rankings. It was the Big Ten Network that led me to spend much of an afternoon cruising the Internet to learn a great deal about women’s athletics at IU. \nAs far as history goes, IU women’s athletics certainly do not disappoint. For example, how many football fans can say they know who Lin Loring is? Thought so. He’s the head coach of our women’s tennis team, which in 30 years has captured 16 Big Ten championships. \nWhat IU supporter can name the two schools – one in an exhibition and one in the regular season – the IU women’s soccer team lost to before beginning its seven-game winning streak? Any takers? Missouri and Florida, respectively.\nBut this is not intended as a criticism of the fans. Rather, it is the revealing of a social trend that is right under our noses. It is a social trend that the Big Ten Network is trying to change and is at least making some progress in.\nHowever, it is important, above all else, to point out that the greatest benefit for fans who watch the network’s coverage of women’s athletics is not the progress toward equality, but simply that the competition is fun to watch. \nJust like the men’s athletic competition we are all accustomed to seeing in Big Ten seasons, the women are hard-nosed and tough, making them exciting to watch. Fans can take pride in that fact. And while men’s athletics will surely continue to dominate the media spectrum, the Big Ten Network has provided an outlet for a whole level of world-class competition.
(09/21/07 4:38am)
IU offensive leaders
(09/21/07 4:31am)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Zack Greinke may have ended the debate over whether he should be a starter or reliever.\nGreinke struck out a career-high 10 and pitched two-hit ball for eight innings, leading the Kansas City Royals over the Chicago White Sox 3-0 Thursday.\nGreinke (7-6) made his sixth start since rejoining the rotation Aug. 24 and allowed just one runner past first base.\nHe began the season as a starter, but after getting hit hard May 6 in a loss at Detroit, he was shifted to the bullpen with a 1-4 record. Greinke worked in relief for much of the next four months.\n“I feel like I’m a starter, but other people make that decision,” Greinke said. “The main thing was to get my pitch count down and go deep into the game.”\nHe became the first Kansas City pitcher to reach double digits in strikeouts since Odalis Perez fanned 10 at Boston on Sept. 8 last year.\n“That is something I wouldn’t have been able to do in the past,” Greinke said. “Since I’ve moved to the bullpen, I’ve been striking out guys better. Ten is a real lot. I never would have imagined that when the season started, me striking out 10 in a game, ’cause I just couldn’t miss that many bats.”\nCatcher John Buck believes Greinke should remain in \nthe rotation.\n“He made a pretty good case for himself,” Buck said. “I’m convinced. I had the best seat in the house. There were a lot of dominating pitches on a team that scored 11 runs in one inning (Monday). He was pretty dominant the whole day.”\nJoakim Soria followed with a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 21 chances, as Kansas City (66-86) moved back ahead of Chicago (66-87) and out of last place in the AL Central.\n“Greinke has an electric fastball,” White Sox catcher Toby Hall said. “It just jumped out of his hand, good slider, good curve.”\nJon Garland (9-13) gave up three runs and six hits in eight innings. He had been 8-1 with a 2.43 ERA in his previous 11 starts against the Royals.\n“You won’t see a better pitching duel,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “We didn’t come close to scoring against Greinke, maybe one time. He pitched well. Garland threw the ball good.”\nGarland has a 1.80 ERA in his last four starts overall but is 1-3, with the White Sox totaling three runs in the three losses.\n“If I give my team a quality start, I feel I’m doing my job,” Garland said. “I was throwing everything for a strike. I’m not very overpowering, but when I can throw all my pitches and keep those guys off balance, they couldn’t sit on one pitch.”\nBefore a crowd of 10,264, the Royals’ third-lowest at home this season, the game was played in 1 hour 55 minutes – the fastest nine-inning game for Kansas City since May 10, 2005, at Toronto (1:44).\nKansas City broke a 21-inning scoreless streak with a two-run sixth.\nBuck and Tony Pena Jr. hit doubles – the latter on an 0-2 pitch after Pena twice failed to get down a bunt. David DeJesus grounded out, and Esteban German hit a sacrifice fly.\n“It’s been a while,” Buck said of snapping an 0-for-12 rut with two hits. “It’s nice to see one of those hit the outfield grass.”\nJerry Owens doubled for Chicago leading off the fourth and Juan Uribe sacrificed, but Jim Thome and Paul Konerko struck out.\n“In the bullpen, I’ve been pitching in tough situations like that,” Greinke said. “I kind of figured on how to get out of jams like that, where in the past I might try to do too much. Thome can really hurt you, but he strikes out a lot, too.”
(09/20/07 4:01am)
After about a week of practices, the IU women’s tennis team is gearing up for its first fall tournament, the Wake Forest Invitational, which will take place this weekend in Winston-Salem, N.C. While this tournament will not determine team rankings, it will eventually influence individual rankings at the end of the season. More importantly, it will allow coaches to get a feel for the strengths and weaknesses of this year’s Hoosier squad, which features four freshmen. \n“It’s a get-your-feet-wet tournament,” IU coach Lin Loring said. \nLoring, who is in his 31st season as head coach, did not state specific win-loss expectations for the team, emphasizing that the tournament is like a ‘discovery trip.’\n“We just really want to see everyone play in a competitive situation,” he said. \nIt will have been more than a month since the team played its last tournament, so the staff is more concerned with developing players for the spring than winning matches, Loring said. This tournament is also different because many of the teams involved are not on IU’s fall schedule. This weekend’s tournament features host Wake Forest as well as Dartmouth, Charlotte and Davidson, among others. This allows the team to break the monotony of playing the same teams each year.\nJunior Alba Berdala, who led IU in the No. 1 singles spot last year, echoed Loring’s thoughts.\n“We start to prepare for the (spring) season,” Berdala said.\nThe fall schedule also includes a tournament at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., next month. Loring switched out of a regional tournament for the one at Vanderbilt to offer the team a bit of diversity as far as competition. \n“It’s fun to play new teams,” Loring said. “(With) such a young team, quality is as important for a semester as quantity.”\nThe team must replace last year’s seniors Laura McGaffigan and Cecile Perton, making these tournaments especially important for finding good doubles combinations. Loring hopes that these fall tournaments will allow the team and the coaching staff to see which players form the best duo. \n“It’s a good experimental time for doubles combinations,” Loring said. \nThe Hoosiers welcome freshmen Maria Guerrerio, Charlotte Martin, Myriam Sopel and Ekaterina Zapadalova and the veteran players are confident in their new teammate’s abilities.\n“All four are really well-prepared,” Berdala said.
(09/20/07 4:00am)
Attention A&R reps for labels with nationwide distribution: SIGN THESE KIDS!\nFirst, let's make something perfectly clear: I'm not cutting Prizzy Prizzy Please any slack for being local. Nor do I have any personal stake in their success. (I've met lead singer-saxophonist Mark Pallman once, long enough to take a show flier from him.) I've seen the Prizzies three times in the last year and a half, but given that they play about 1,200 gigs in Bloomington every month, that's a paltry number. Thus, when I say that I think they have the talent to make a go at this rock 'n' roll stuff, I mean just that.\nSo, if you're not from Bloomington, or completely avoid the local music scene, what do the Prizzies sound like? To these ears, The Descendents crossed with Rocket From The Crypt and a slight dash of Bee Gees thrown in. Translation: Short, punchy punk with eccentric tongue-in-cheek lyrics (like The Descendents); but with bouncy, high-energy big-band-like instrumentals (saxophone, horn like RFTC); and the occasional deviation into falsetto, white-boy soul vocals (Bee Gees). Got all that?\nAt a mere 25 minutes and nine songs, the Prizzies' self-titled full-length debut flies by, but packs in more fun, memorable moments than many albums twice its length. These moments come in the form of the bold bass, drums, keyboard and sax run that opens the album's first track "Shorgasm;" the shout-along pogo of "Flea Bomb" or "Thundergust of Woodpeckers;" the fight song chronicling IU alumnus Aaron Waltke's world record for wearing the most T-shirts at once ("Too Many T-Shirts"); or pop-tastic tributes to disaster monkeys ("Captain Bob") and partying with Campfire Girls ("Campfire Girls' Weekend Party"). The only misstep comes with an ill-considered spoken-word intro to the otherwise terrific "Thought Command" that puts a speed bump in the album's momentum. But all-in-all, it's a mad, tremendously entertaining effort from a band that should be preparing to take on the world beyond Monroe County.
(09/20/07 3:45am)
CLEVELAND – C.C. Sabathia upgraded his Cy Young resume and Cleveland finished declawing the Detroit Tigers with a 4-2 win Wednesday that completed a three-game sweep and reduced the Indians’ magic number for clinching the AL Central to three.\nWhen Cleveland, which hasn’t made the playoffs since 2001, was in the midst of its worst stretch of the season in early August, Sabathia (18-7) boldly predicted the Indians would win the division anyway.\nLooks like the big lefty was right.\nCasey Blake homered off Nate Robertson (8-12) as the Indians improved to 20-5 since Aug. 25 and moved into a temporary tie with the Boston Red Sox for the majors’ best record.\nIn winning three straight over the Tigers, Cleveland opened a 7 1/2-game lead over the defending AL champs, who led in every game of the series but couldn’t put the Indians away.\nThis was not the sweep Detroit had in mind. The Tigers fell five games back in the wild-card race behind the New York Yankees, who played Wednesday night.\nRafael Betancourt, an emerging star in Cleveland’s bullpen, worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and Joe Borowski pitched the ninth for his league-leading 42nd save – and biggest one to date.\nSabathia, who went 17-5 as a rookie in ‘01, set a career-high for wins by allowing two runs and five hits in seven innings. The 27-year-old gave up both runs in the third, but settled down and retired 12 of the last 13.\nSabathia’s case to become Cleveland’s first Cy Young Award winner since Gaylord Perry in 1972 is a strong one. He leads the majors in innings pitched and is ranked at the top – or near it – in virtually every category among AL pitchers.\nBut his 99th career win put the Indians at the brink of playing meaningful games in October, something the 6-foot-7 Sabathia has often said is much more important to him than winning individual awards.\nJust as they did in the first two games, the Indians fell behind before rallying.\nTrailing 2-1 in the fifth, Cleveland scored three runs off Robertson, who gave up four runs in seven innings.\nWith one out, Blake walked and stole second. Franklin Gutierrez followed with an RBI double and scored when Jason Michaels dropped a double into left. Robertson hit Grady Sizemore with a pitch and rookie Asdrubal Cabrera, arguably Cleveland’s second-half MVP, hit a run-scoring single to make it 4-2.\nBlake, whose two walk-off homers in the past week helped the Indians open some distance on the Tigers, connected for his 18th homer – and sixth career shot off Robertson – in the third to make it 2-1.\nSabathia, who before allowing four runs in his previous start had gone 10 straight outings without giving up more than two runs, fell behind 2-0 in third.\nMike Hessman singled leading off and Ramon Santiago doubled with one out. Ryan Raburn, starting in center field because of Curtis Granderson’s .157 average against lefties, followed with a two-run single.\nThe Tigers were quiet until the eighth when they loaded the bases on a walk and two singles. But Betancourt got Marcus Thames to fly to left with two outs. Thames had been 4-for-4 with two grand slams and 13 RBIs this season with the bases full.
(09/19/07 3:17am)
IRVING, Texas – Suspended defensive tackle Tank Johnson signed a two-year contract Tuesday with the Dallas Cowboys.\nJohnson, who played the last three seasons for the Chicago Bears, can’t play for the Cowboys until he completes his eight-game NFL suspension for violating probation on a gun charge. He has served the first two games of that suspension.\nJohnson signed after visiting with the Cowboys and taking a physical.\n“For a lot of reasons, he really just felt the Cowboys were the right fit,” said Johnson’s agent, Jerrold Colton. “He’s so thankful to them for giving him this opportunity. He is very determined to prove they made a wise decision in believing in him.”\nJohnson could provide late-season depth on a defensive line that lost starting nose tackle Jason Ferguson for the year because of a torn right bicep in the opener.\nJay Ratliff, a third-year player, replaced Ferguson as the starting nose tackle. Ratliff has five tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery for the Cowboys (2-0).\nAlthough Johnson can’t work out with the team until his suspension ends, the team must make room for him on the 53-man roster.\nThe Bears released Johnson on June 25, three days after he was pulled over by police in Arizona. He already had served a two-month jail term for the gun charge and been suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.\nPolice in Gilbert, Ariz., closed the June case without charging Johnson, who was stopped for speeding. His blood alcohol level was .072, under the presumptive limit for DUI.
(09/18/07 4:23am)
High school senior Tom Pritchard verbally committed to become the fourth member of the IU men’s basketball team’s recruiting class of 2008. Pritchard called IU coach Kelvin Sampson to confirm his spot on the team, according to recruiting services www.rivals.com and www.scout.com.\nPritchard, a 6-foot-8 forward, was lightly recruited up until the last few months. A successful end to the summer AAU circuit caused the St. Edwards, Ohio, native’s stock to rise in the recruiting ranks. Pritchard chose the Hoosiers over Penn State and Miami (Ohio).\nAfter visiting Penn State on Sept. 7 and Bloomington for last Saturday’s home football game against Akron, Pritchard chose to call Indiana home for his college years.\nPritchard joins a talented recruiting class, including Rivals five-star forward Devin Ebanks, four-star guard Bud Mackey and three-star guard Matt Roth.\nSampson and the Hoosiers have two possible scholarships remaining for the 2008 class. Recruiting targets Tyler Zeller and Kevin Jones are still undecided on schools. Zeller, the top prospect from Indiana, will make his official visit this weekend.
(09/18/07 3:05am)
SOUTH BEND – Demetrius Jones, the Notre Dame quarterback who lost his starting position after a poor performance in the season opener, expects to play next season at Northern Illinois following his quick decision to transfer.\nJones surprised Notre Dame’s coaches by not showing up Friday for the bus trip for the team’s game at Michigan.\nJones said he was stung by coach Charlie Weis’ comments that freshman Jimmy Clausen had been the team’s top quarterback but was not named the opening game starter as he was recovering from surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow.\n“When I heard Jimmy was the No. 1 all the way through spring, and that the only thing that was keeping him out of the lineup was his surgery, well that’s not what I was led to believe going into the summer,” Jones told the South Bend Tribune for a story Monday. “I thought I was getting a chance because coach Weis believed in me. Then I didn’t know what to believe anymore.”\nJones, who is from Chicago, said he attended Northern Illinois’ 21-19 loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday in DeKalb, Ill., but had not yet been in contact with the school’s coaching staff and did not know when he would begin practicing with his new team.\n“My plan is to practice with them this year and be eligible to play next fall,” he said. “I’d then have three years of eligibility. That’s how I hope it works out.”\nNorthern Illinois spokeswoman Donna Turner said Monday that she had no word that Jones was yet part of the team.\n“Everything so far has taken place outside the athletic department,” she said.
(09/17/07 3:31am)
This weekend, the IU men’s soccer team hit a speed bump in it’s journey toward another national championship. The team traveled to St. Louis to compete in the Saint Louis/Nike Soccer Classic, where it was dealt two tough, 2-1 losses. These were the first losses of the season for IU.\nThe Hoosiers first faced No. 16 Creighton on Thursday, a match in which they suffered while facing an offensive flurry. Creighton had 17 shots to IU’s seven, 11 of which came in the second half. \nCreighton first took the lead at the 58:41 mark, when a shot from the top of the penalty box soared over junior goalkeeper Chay Cain's hands. \nThirteen proved to be Creighton’s lucky number – their 13th shot of the evening also found its way past Cain less than five minutes later, leaving the Hoosiers with a two-goal deficit. In the process of trying to make a comeback, sophomore defender Ofori Sarkodie was issued a red card for a bad tackle, the first red card issued to a Hoosier this season. \nNot long after Sarkodie’s red card, a penalty kick was awarded to the Hoosiers. Sophomore midfielder Eric Alexander took the penalty and scored the first and only goal for the Hoosiers with 16 minutes remaining in regulation time. \nWith two minutes remaining, the game was nearly tied up when a goal kicked by freshman forward Neil Wilmarth was ruled offsides and therefore not counted.\nThe Hoosiers next took the pitch against No. 24 Saint Louis on Saturday evening. However, over the course of the game, the Billikens gave IU a challenge they could not match.\nIU was the first team on the scoreboard when junior midfielder Brad Ring knocked in a goal from 20 yards out. Saint Louis continued to pressure the back line and scored the tying goal at the 41:50 mark. \nThe Billikens scored their second, game-winning goal on a defensive mistake by the Hoosiers, when a player trying to clear the ball out of the box completely missed it altogether. Junior midfielder Kevin Noschang nearly tied the game late, but the ball bounced off the pole and back into play. Sophomore midfielder Lee Hagedorn and senior midfielder Charley Traylor also worked the goalkeeper as the game wore on, but both were unable to score.
(09/17/07 2:51am)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vince Young and the Tennessee Titans have run out of magic, at least against the Indianapolis Colts.\nPeyton Manning threw for 312 yards and a touchdown, and the Colts held off Tennessee for a 22-20 victory Sunday when the Titans couldn’t pull off a final-drive comeback.\nThis time, the Titans (1-1) trailed by 13 points instead of 14.\nBut unlike last December, when Rob Bironas capped a similar comeback with a 60-yard field goal, the Colts collapsed around Young on fourth-and-four. That forced him to lob the ball away in the final seconds.\nManning kneeled down to run out the final seconds as defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis (2-0) reminded Tennessee which team remains atop the AFC South.\nAdam Vinatieri had one of his worst days in years despite making field goals of 22, 39 and 20 yards.\nHe had an extra point blocked and a field goal partially blocked that bounced off the crossbar before going over. He also missed a 36-yarder to the left after the Colts recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter.\nThe Colts had every reason for a letdown in their first road game after unveiling their title banner in the season opener with a 41-10 rout of New Orleans. And they played without starting linebackers Freddy Keiaho (right elbow) and Rob Morris (ribs).\nIndianapolis allowed Tennessee 313 yards, including 141 yards rushing. That was well below the 282 yards the Titans had in their opener.\nThe defending Super Bowl champs nearly blew a 16-6 halftime lead with Vinatieri’s struggles and the Titans picking off Manning and sacking him twice in the second half.\nThe Colts twice had the ball at the Tennessee 8-yard line and had to settle for field goals. They even came up with a fumble when linebacker Tyjuan Hagler, starting in place of Keiaho, recovered at the beginning of the fourth period.\nBut Tennessee, which gave up more yards than any other NFL defense in 2006, held the Colts to a three-and-out. Vinatieri, the kicker signed last year for his accuracy in the clutch, missed a 36-yarder.\nYoung, who stopped a drive himself with a taunting penalty just before halftime, drove the Titans 74 yards and pulled them within 22-20 with a 2-yard pass to Roydell Williams with 6:02 left.\nManning had his own chance to seal the victory. But Titans cornerback Nick Harper, who won a Super Bowl ring with the Colts in February, leaped up and tipped away a pass intended for Marvin Harrison at the goal line. Then Kyle Vanden Bosch sacked Manning on third down, forcing the punt.\nYoung, who looked so poised in becoming the first rookie quarterback to lead two comebacks of 14 points or more in 2006, finally showed his youth.\nThe Titans had 98 seconds left and needed a field goal to win and improve to 2-0 for the first time since 1999. Young was sacked on the first play. He overthrew Brandon Jones on third down. Then the Colts collapsed around Young on fourth down, and he fumbled.\nLeft guard Jacob Bell grabbed the ball for the Titans, but could do nothing with it, and the game was over.
(09/17/07 2:50am)
CLEVELAND – This was a high-flying, high-scoring show even Chad Johnson and all his props couldn’t top.\nDerek Anderson threw five touchdown passes, Jamal Lewis rushed for 215 yards and the Cleveland Browns, so desperate after losing their home opener they traded their starting quarterback, outlasted the Cincinnati Bengals and Carson Palmer 51-45 on Sunday.\nPalmer tossed a career-high six TDs, but his final chance to rally the Bengals (1-1) ended when he was intercepted with 21 seconds left by Cleveland cornerback Leigh Bodden, who made a diving grab near Cleveland’s sideline.\nOne week ago, Anderson was backing up Charlie Frye before being brought in during the first half when the Browns (1-1) were blown out and embarrassed 34-7 by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Two days later, the Browns dealt Frye to the Seattle Seahawks, becoming the first team since the AFL/NFL merger to trade its season-opening quarterback before Week 2.\nCleveland’s plan was for Anderson to hold down the starting job until rookie Brady Quinn was ready. That plan, too, may be scrapped following Anderson’s breakout performance.\nIt was just the third time in NFL history that two QBs threw five TD passes in the same game. Oakland’s Tom Flores (6) and Houston’s George Blanda (5) both did it on Dec. 22, 1963, and Billy Kilmer of New Orleans (6) and Charley Johnson of St. Louis (6) also did on Nov. 5, 1969.\nThe teams combined for 96 points, 1,085 offensive yards and just five punts.\nAnderson finished 20-of-33 for 328 yards and the five TDs, which tied a team record shared by Frank Ryan, Bill Nelsen, Brian Sipe and Kelly Holcomb.\nPalmer went 33-of-50 for 401 yards, but Cincinnati’s QB was hurt by a few late drops as the Bengals tried to come back.\nOut of timeouts, the Bengals got the ball back at their 9-yard line with 1:03 left. After two completions got them to the 20, Palmer threaded a 30-yarder over the middle between two defenders to Johnson, who had 11 catches for 209 yards and two TDs.\nOne play later, Palmer tried to feather another pass down the sideline to Johnson, but Bodden, who missed practice time this week with a groin injury, made a pick the Browns won’t soon forget.\nAnderson took a knee to run out the clock, and the Browns celebrated an unlikely win that gave third-year coach Romeo Crennel just his second win against an AFC North opponent in 14 tries.\nCleveland’s Braylon Edwards had eight catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Joe Jurevicius had two TD catches and Kellen Winslow had the other from Anderson, who got his first win as an NFL starter.\nLewis, signed by the Browns as a free agent this winter, averaged 7.7 yards per carry thanks to a 66-yard TD burst in the third quarter and 47-yard run in the fourth that set up Phil Dawson’s 18-yard field goal that put the Browns up 51-38 with 5:44 left.\nPalmer brought the Bengals right back and hit Glenn Holt from 7 yards to make it 51-45 with 3:39 left.\nThe Browns were able to use up some clock, picking up a crucial first down when Edwards caught a pass over the middle and pushed his way past the markers despite being hit by several Bengals.\nCleveland, though, had to punt it away and Dave Zastudil, who missed last week’s game with a bad back, dropped a pooch kick inside the 10 to make it tough on the Bengals.\nCincinnati’s Rudi Johnson had 118 yards on 23 carries.\nChad Johnson’s second TD catch pulled the Bengals within 34-31 in the third, and as the NFL’s most eccentric showman promised, he jumped headfirst into the Dawg Pound, where he was baptized in a shower of beer by Cleveland’s rowdiest fans.\nJohnson climbed down and blew kisses to crowd. Seconds later, Lewis blew by the Bengals.\nOn first down at the 34, Lewis broke free at the line and down the left side on a run similar to a few he made in 2003 when he scorched the Browns for a single-game record 295 yards.\nPalmer’s fifth TD pass – a 5-yarder to T.J. Houshmandzadeh – got the Bengals within three, but Anderson countered with a 37-yard strike to Edwards, who made a diving catch near the 5 and rolled into the end zone.
(09/14/07 1:42am)
IU Offensive Leaders
(09/13/07 3:39am)
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Patricia Dugas reached out, touched Kevin Everett’s arm and asked her son if he could feel her hand. Everett – lying in a hospital bed, barely awake and hooked to life support systems – nodded yes.\n“I can’t even explain it to you; he’s like a miracle,” Dugas said, her voice breaking, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.\nEverett’s mother spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday, one day after doctors reversed Everett’s grim prognosis when he voluntarily moved his arms and legs.\n“That’s right. They’re surprised themselves,” Dugas said. “They don’t know Kevin Everett. Oh, man, I always told him when he was a little boy, ‘You show them better than you can tell them.’ He’s going to be fine. I really believe it.”\nShe said Everett can shake his head, even throw it back in laughter. He has trouble speaking because of a breathing tube, so instead she said Everett is using a device to spell out words on a screen by hitting letters with a pen in his mouth.\nDugas left her home in Port Arthur, Texas, on Monday not knowing whether her son, the Bills reserve tight end, would ever walk again after sustaining a life-threatening spinal cord injury.\nOn Tuesday, everything changed as she watched her son move his limbs and feel her touch when he was partially awakened from a sedated state.\n“Based on our experience, the fact he’s moving so well, so early after such a catastrophic injury means he will walk again,” said Dr. Barth Green, chairman of the department of neurological surgery at the University of Miami school of medicine. “It’s totally spectacular, totally unexpected.”\nEmotionally drained yet genuinely upbeat, Dugas let out a big laugh in discussing how difficult the last four days have been.\n“Happy,” said Dugas, who’s been at her son’s bedside at Buffalo’s Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital since Monday. “I’m extremely happy. I’m grateful.”\nEverett sustained the injury Sunday after ducking his head while tackling the Denver Broncos’ Domenik Hixon during the second-half kickoff of the Bills’ season opener. He dropped face-first to the ground after his helmet hit Hixon high on the left shoulder and side of the helmet.\n“It’s feasible, but it’s not 100 percent predictable at this time ... he could lead a normal life,” said Green, who added he has been consulting with doctors in Buffalo since Everett was injured.\nIn a report Tuesday evening, Buffalo’s WIVB-TV quoted Bills orthopedic surgeon Dr. Andrew Cappuccino as saying: “We may be witnessing a \nminor miracle.”\nDugas is certain.\n“We’re going to take it slow getting him up on his feet, but we hope to see him walk out of here,” she said. “He has a strong will and determination. I tell you, he’s not going to settle for this. You’re all going to see a miracle.”
(09/13/07 3:38am)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – This videotape needs no interpretation: New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick walked out of his news conference Wednesday when pressed repeatedly about the sideline spying scandal that landed him on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s crowded docket.\nTen minutes before his regular availability, Belichick issued a one-paragraph statement apologizing to his team and confirming that he has spoken to Goodell about an “interpretation” of league rules that ban videotaping of the opposing sideline.\n“Although it remains a league matter, I want to apologize to everyone who has been affected; most of all ownership, staff and players,” Belichick said. “Following the league’s decision, I will have further comment.”\nIt was not clear whether Belichick was apologizing for his actions or the distraction it has caused his team as it prepares for Sunday night’s marquee game against San Diego. But if he thought – or even hoped – that the standing-room -only crowd of media was there to talk about the Chargers, he failed to prepare in the manner that has made him one of the most successful coaches in the history of the league.\nNever one to relish his interactions with the media, Belichick grimly refused to respond to a half-dozen questions about the scandal, possible punishments and the potential effect on his team. Begging for a football question, he seemed ready to abort the news conference after just a few minutes at the podium.\n“Any questions about the Chargers?” he pleaded in his standard, other-things-to-do monotone. “Want to talk about the football game? If not, I think that statement pretty much covers it.”\nIt appeared that there were none, before one reporter asked about Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson.\nThe prospect of defending against the reigning NFL offensive player of the year is not the sort of thing that usually cheers up opposing coaches.\nBut Belichick smiled.\n“I think the Chargers are a concern. Their football team is a concern. That’s what we’re concerned about,” he said. “Whatever happens out there Sunday night, out there on the field, that’s when everybody will make their statement.”\nAfter another 15 minutes of football questions, though, the subject returned to the \nspying scandal.\n“Is there any other question on the Chargers?” Belichick said before walking out. “OK. Yep. That’s all. OK. \nThank you.”\nNFL security confiscated a video camera and tape from Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella on Sunday when he was working on the New York Jets’ sideline during New England’s 38-14 victory. The league has confirmed that it is investigating whether the Patriots were taping the Jets’ defensive coaches as they signaled to players on the field.\nJets coach Eric Mangini, a former Belichick assistant, also declined to comment. Asked if he had any knowledge of such shenanigans while he was in New England, he followed the form of his mentor.\n“As I said with this whole issue, it’s a league issue and they are handling it,” Mangini said. “And we are really focused on the Ravens.”\nPatriots players also tried to focus on their game.\n“I’m the last person in the world to know any of that stuff, anyway,” offensive lineman Matt Light said. “I could care less what happens outside of my little world.”\nBut Goodell doesn’t have that luxury.\nIn a busy year for his misbehaving minions, the commissioner has already banned Tennessee cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones for the entire season after repeated run-ins with police. Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick has been suspended indefinitely while he faces a likely jail term for his role in a dogfighting ring.\nThe Bengals had 10 players charged with crimes during a 14-month span, and both receiver Chris Henry and linebacker Odell Thurman are currently suspended. Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer wants Goodell to be consistent with his punishment, whether the offender is wearing a uniform or not.\n“Hopefully there’s a harsh enough penalty that it’s not worth it to try to cheat and try to get any advantage that you’re not allowed to get,” Palmer said. “I hope the commissioner is just as harsh on them as he’s been on individual players for making mistakes.”\nESPN.com, citing league sources, reported Tuesday that Goodell has already determined the Patriots violated league rules; both teams say no decision has been made. The Web site’s report said Goodell is considering severe sanctions, including docking the Patriots “multiple draft picks.”\nBelichick sidestepped questions about the commissioner’s timetable and about whether he had any contingencies in place should he get suspended – the most drastic of the potential penalties Goodell could consider. The coach also refused to discuss whether he worried that the scandal – dubbed “videogate” in the press room, of course – would distract his players.\nAlso at stake is the legacy of the NFL’s latest dynasty, one that memorably rejected individual on-field introductions before its first Super Bowl victory, instead “choosing to be introduced as a team.” Stressing individual discipline and salary cap selflessness in a league where they tend to be in short supply, the Patriots won three NFL titles in four years and held themselves up as a model organization.\nNow, they’re being accused of cheating.\n“That’s not going to tarnish this team,” running back Kevin Faulk said. “We know what we do and how hard we work.”\nLinebacker Chad Brown, who re-signed for a second stint with the team this week and landed in the middle of the tumult, acknowledged it would be embarrassing if the allegations turn out to be true. But he also said the videotaping is an offshoot of the gamesmanship all teams indulge in.\n“I think that all the facts should come out before people judge this organization,” Brown said. “I think we do things the right way.”
(09/13/07 3:37am)
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Nearly a year later, Chris Smith still wonders how it happened.\nThe former Florida International player doesn’t know why he threw Miami’s Matt Perrelli to the turf and punched him to help spark one of the worst on-field brawls in college football history. Or why dozens of others starting fighting as well. Or why some swung helmets and crutches as weapons.\nSmith watched the replays that night in his room in sheer disbelief, then looked at the ceiling and sobbed. He spent the rest of the weekend in solitude, trying to figure what went wrong. He’s still pondering that one.\n“I remember thinking it would be a slight confrontation,” said Smith, whose college career ended that night; he was kicked off FIU’s team two days later. “And before I knew it, everything just happened. I was like, whoa! This thing got way out of hand.”\nIn all, 31 players – 18 from FIU, 13 from Miami – were sanctioned for the fight, which marred the first meeting between the programs separated by nine miles in South Florida. Most of those 31 players will be in uniform Saturday, when the teams meet again at the Orange Bowl.\nBoth teams have made the same vow: Another fight cannot, and will not, happen.\n“Nobody thought last year would be that type of deal,” Miami coach Randy Shannon said. “But it was.”\nIf this were a regular week, the storylines would be easy.\nFIU’s first-year coach Mario Cristobal is facing his alma mater, a school where he coached until last December. Shannon will see his son, Xavier, starting on FIU’s offensive line. Miami safety Kenny Phillips’ brother Jarvis Wilson plays at FIU.\nOf course, all those are overshadowed by the events of Oct. 14, 2006.\n“It’s like a forest fire,” Miami athletic director Paul Dee said. “You never plan on it. ... And it starts in a flash.”\nThat night started, oddly enough, with some sportsmanship: Miami and FIU’s bands congregated at midfield and played “America the Beautiful.”\nBut the problems were already starting.\nThe Hurricanes said an FIU player deliberately ran into a Miami player during warmups. There were plenty of hits after the whistle as the night went along, with some of those labeled by both sides as cheap shots. Verbal taunting was a constant.\n“Usually when it gets to that point, refs step in and stop it,” Smith said. “But it happened so fast, it probably caught them off-guard, too.”\nWith nine minutes left in the third quarter, as Smith said, “the coffee pot started overflowing.”\nMiami’s Kyle Wright threw a touchdown pass to James Bryant, who pointed at the FIU sideline as he scored and took a theatrical bow toward the stands. FIU players reacted angrily, and after Jon Peattie kicked the extra point, the fight was on.\n“There was a lot of extra stuff going on that really nobody wants to talk about, a lot of stuff that’s between the whistles that’s not caught on all the cameras,” Smith said. “I’m not pointing any fingers. It takes two to tango. But enough was enough. He took that bow and it was very disrespectful.”\nSmith attacked Perrelli, Miami’s holder who was then kicked in the head by FIU player Michael McDuffie – who is still an FIU student. He politely declined an interview request, only saying he wants to put the situation behind him.\nThe fracas escalated quickly; even Miami’s chaplain was struck during the melee.\n“It was awful,” Miami defensive end Calais Campbell said. “We’re out here to play football. We’re not here to fight. I didn’t really know what was happening at first. And when I saw one of my teammates about to get hit, I got in the way and pulled somebody back. I just wanted it to end.”\nOfficials from both schools acknowledge the fight was a concern leading up to the game. Many Miami and FIU players were high school rivals and both teams have rosters largely filled by South Florida natives who have competed against each other for years.\n“Sometimes when we play teams that have players on the team who want to be at a certain school, that can happen,” Randy Shannon said. “I think that’s what happened last year. Our players will be better prepared for it this year and I think coach Cristobal will do a good job of making them understand. He’ll handle it and we will, too. We’ll all do a better job.”\nSuspensions came the next day. Former Miami player Lamar Thomas, a TV analyst on the game, was fired by Comcast Sports SouthEast for comments he made, including “You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked.” The fight may have helped prompt coaching changes.\nFIU coach Don Strock – the only coach in the program’s five-year history – resigned about a month later. Miami’s Larry Coker was fired after a 6-6 regular season, but has said if the brawl never took place, he believes he’d still be coaching the Hurricanes.\n“Looking back, the series was a mistake. But at first, I thought it would be great,” Coker recently told The AP. “It was another home game for us and a good series for FIU from the standpoint of their credibility and giving their families a chance to see a game. I thought it was a good move. As it turned out, it was terrible.”\nThere was some talk about postponing or canceling this season’s game amid the fallout from the brawl. But many support the decision to play.\n“If we can’t play a clean collegiate football game between two schools nine miles apart,” FIU athletic director Pete Garcia said, “then shame on us.”\nSmith won’t be there Saturday, saying he has no interest in reliving the bad memories.\nHis football career isn’t over; he was in camp with the Philadelphia Eagles this summer and he said there are other NFL teams interested in him. For now, he’s back at FIU, taking the last few classes he needs to finish his criminal justice degree.\n“It was a terrible thing,” Smith said. “But we move on.”
