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(07/02/07 12:28am)
SAN FRANCISCO – \nBarry Bonds hit his 750th career home run Friday night, pulling the San Francisco slugger within five of tying Hank Aaron’s record.\nThe 42-year-old Bonds watched the ball sail over the wall in right-center, then lowered his head and began his trot. The solo shot against Arizona starter Livan Hernandez leading off the eighth inning tied the game at three. The main center-field scoreboard immediately featured a road sign reading “Bonds 750” in the middle and “Road to History” on either side.\nBonds drove a 3-2 pitch an estimated 380 feet for his 16th home run of the season and first in exactly a week since connecting off Yankees reliever Scott Proctor on June 22. It was Bonds’ first homer in 14 at-bats and 23 plate appearances and the fourth of his career against Hernandez, a former Giant, who last surrendered a home run to Bonds on Aug. 24, 2006. Bonds had an RBI single in the first Friday night, drew his 79th walk in the third and popped out in the sixth.\nHe received a standing ovation when he walked to left field in the top of the ninth, tipping his hat to the crowd. Bonds’ batboy son Nikolai is nursing an ankle injury and wasn’t at home plate to greet him with a hug as is their typical routine.\nThe home run came an inning after a fan gave everybody a scare when he hopped the fence and ran out to Bonds in left field. The seven-time NL MVP calmly greeted the man and walked him off and into the custody of security personnel.\nThe fan came out over the short fence along the left-field line and scurried to Bonds while Orlando Hudson was batting. Bonds didn’t flinch, putting his arm around the man and walking him off the field – and fans began chants of “Barry! Barry!”\nThe Giants have said they will beef up security during Bonds’ chase of Aaron’s 755. The club did a trial run with metal detectors at some gates Friday leading up to All-Star game festivities next month.
(07/01/07 11:06pm)
FRANKFURT, Germany – After 16 years in Europe, the NFL shut down its developmental league Friday.\nNFL commissioner Roger Goodell said it was strictly business, insisting that after “significant investment” it was time to close NFL Europa and concentrate internationally on regular-season games outside the United States.\n“A foundation of American football fans in key European markets has been created and the time is right to shift our strategy,” Goodell said in a statement. “The next phase of our international growth is to focus on initiatives with global impact, including taking advantage of developing technologies that make the NFL more accessible on a global scale and ensuring the success of our new international series of regular-season games.”\nThe league reportedly was losing about $30 million a season. Five of the league’s six teams were in Germany, with the other in Amsterdam, Netherlands.\nThe announcement came less than a week after the Hamburg Sea Devils beat the Frankfurt Galaxy 37-28 in the World Bowl championship in Frankfurt before a crowd of 48,125.\nNFL team owners decided in October to play up to two regular-season games each season outside the United States. The first such game is Oct. 28 in London between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Giants.\nThe league said it is looking toward other regular-season games in Germany, Mexico and Canada, with Germany being a strong \ncandidate for 2008.\n“NFL Europa has created thousands of passionate fans who have supported that league and our sport for many years,” said Mark Waller, senior vice president of NFL International. “And we look forward to building on this foundation as we begin this new phase of our international development.”\nThe league began in 1991 as the World League of American Football, with 10 teams from the United States and Europe, spreading from Scotland to Spain. After closing for two seasons in 1993 and 1994, the league returned with six European teams and retained the same format until the end.\nThe league was used by NFL teams to test young talent and produced players such as quarterback Kurt Warner, who led the St. Louis Rams to the 2000 Super Bowl championship and won two NFL MVP awards; Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme, and Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri.\nNFL Europa managing director Uwe Bergheim said the league had succeeded in establishing a fan base for football in important European markets.\n“Despite the great support of fans, business partners and the cities where we were active, we decided that it was time to change the strategy,” Bergheim said.\nThe German teams were in Berlin, Hamburg, Duesseldorf, Cologne and Frankfurt. Some drew strong crowds – especially Frankfurt – and broad newspaper coverage. The spectators liked the party atmosphere in the stadiums, much more relaxed than soccer games with their often rowdy fans.\nBut the league got little television exposure locally. Apart from the Super Bowl, no other NFL games are shown on free TV in Germany.\n“The disappointment and the frustration are great,” Hamburg general manager Kathrin Platz said.
(06/27/07 11:30pm)
WIMBLEDON, England – After another slow start, Serena Williams got her grass-court game back on track.\nThe two-time champion rallied from 4-1 down in the first set and beat Australia’s Alicia Molik 7-6 (4), 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the third round of Wimbledon on another day of rain delays at the All England Club.\n“I just got really angry,” Williams said. “I thought it was unfair that I got down so far. I was like, OK, it’s just one break. But 4-1 looks worse than one break.”\nAlso getting past the second round was third-seeded Andy Roddick, who defeated 114th-ranked Danai Udomchoke of Thailand 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3).\nRoddick, served at speeds up to 140 mph aces and 40 winners and broke three times. Udomchoke converted only one of nine break points.\n“I felt like I played some of my best tennis in the third-set tiebreak,” Roddick said. “I was a bit up and down mentally in the match, but got through.”\nTop-seeded Justine Henin took one hour to oust Vera Dushevina of Russia 6-0, 6-4 on Centre Court to make the third round in her bid for the only Grand Slam title to elude her.\n“I hope I can make it here one day,” said Henin, a two-time losing finalist at Wimbledon. “I hope I will have another chance and be at my best level. It’s a good motivation for me.”\nHenin played with a long strip of black tape on her right shin. She said she has been bothered by tendinitis in her right foot, but that it hasn’t affected her game.\nPlay was interrupted by rain for 45 minutes early in the day, and suspended again in late afternoon by heavier showers. The delay came with four-time defending champion Roger Federer – seeking his 50th straight win on grass – leading 6-2, 7-5, 2-0 against 18-year-old Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina.\nWilliams, who also struggled in the first set of her opening-round win Monday over Lourdes Dominguez Lino, fell behind again early against Molik in windy conditions on Court 1. But she finally got her power game going and finished with 10 aces and 35 winners to 18 errors.\n“I’m playing OK,” said Williams, who rated her performance six out of 10, compared to two out of 10 for the first round. “I actually don’t think I’m playing that great, no.”\nWilliams, who was affected by a tight hamstring in her first match, said she experienced no problems Wednesday.\n“Not at all,” she said. “Not today. I was feeling better. Don’t jinx me.”\nWilliams showed lots of emotion during the match as her sister, Venus, and parents watched from the stands.\n“The angry Serena is very crazy to say the least,” she said. “Sometimes she comes out.”\nThe turning point came in the tiebreaker with Molik leading 4-2. The Australian made groundstroke errors on the next four points and Williams pounded a 121 mph ace down the middle to close out the set, punctuated by a fist pump and scream of “Come on!”\nThe match ended in bizarre circumstances on Williams’ third match point in the final game. A line judge called Molik’s shot wide, but the two continued playing until Williams hit a winning forehand volley.\nThe players approached the net to congratulate each other, but Molik was allowed to challenge the line judge’s call. The new “Hawk-Eye” replay system showed the ball was out. The two smiled, and Williams saluted the crowd.\nWilliams said she didn’t mind that Molik contested the call.\n“I told her, `You may as well. I would have challenged it, too. I’m not upset. I’m not going to hold it against you,’” Williams said. “She was like, ‘OK.’”\nA similar incident occurred at the end of Henin’s victory. Serving for the match, Henin saved a break point, then produced two straight aces to finish the contest. Dushevina challenged the call on the final ace, but the replay showed the ball was on the line.
(06/27/07 11:22pm)
WASHINGTON – Aging NFL retirees told Congress Tuesday that playing professional football left them with broken bodies, brain damage and empty bank accounts. Lawmakers said they may get involved if a better pension and disability system isn’t created.\nFormer NFL players told a sympathetic House Judiciary subcommittee tales of multiple surgeries, dementia and homelessness, all while trying to fight through the red tape of the National Football League and the NFL Players Association’s disability system.\nThe league and the players association said pensions are improving and there’s no need for Congress to step in.\nCurt Marsh, an Oakland Raider from 1981-87, described a leg amputation, more than 30 surgeries and multiple doctor visits before he was approved for disability payments. Brent Boyd, a Minnesota Viking from 1980-86, talked about his bouts with homelessness as a single dad and brain damage he blames on multiple concussions from his football days.\nThe late Mike Webster, the Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers’ center who suffered from mental illness that was widely attributed to head injuries, died homeless in 2002, his lawyer told the committee.\nThe players from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s laid the groundwork for the popularity of the NFL, a billion-dollar industry, and should be treated better, lawmakers said.\n“Perhaps there ought to be a legal solution,” said Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah.\nBut the NFL and the NFL Players Association told lawmakers that pensions for older players are on the rise. Last week, they agreed to allow any former player who qualified as disabled under the Social Security system to be considered as disabled under the NFL-NFLPA system.\n“I don’t think a law change is necessary,” NFL Senior Vice President Dennis Curran said. “I don’t accept that the process is broken.”\nRetired football players have been openly critical of the NFL and the players’ union over the amount of money older retirees get from a $1.1 billion fund set aside for disability and pensions.\nThe league says $126 million a year goes into pension and post-career disability benefits for retired players and their families. The accounts pay out $60 million a year to those players, $20 million of it for disability payments.\nBut only 317 out of more than 10,000 eligible players are getting disability payments out of that fund, officials said.\n“It’s right versus wrong,” said Mike Ditka, a Hall of Fame Coach and player for the Chicago Bears. “It’s do the ethical thing or do the wrong thing. So far, they’ve chosen to do the wrong thing.”\nLawmakers zeroed in on the fact that the players’ union only represents active players, not retired players. But the union and the NFL owners decide who sits on the panels that decide whether retired players get disability payments.\n“We have a group that should be protected, but is not being protected,” said Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Fla.\n“What is even more troubling is that through projects such as NFL Films, the NFL continues to profit off those very same players who are denied benefits,” said Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif.\nNFL and NFLPA representatives noted that the benefits in the disability and pension systems are set through collective bargaining negotiations between the players and the owners.\n“Many of the players who now complain about their pension did not view pension benefits as a priority when they were playing, and did not agree to make sacrifices in bargaining to improve either their pensions or the pensions of those who came before them,” said Douglas Ell, the lawyer for NFL’s retirement plan.\nIn the most recent collective bargaining agreement, payments from the pension fund were raised by 25 percent for players who retired before 1982 and 10 percent for those who retired after 1982.
(06/27/07 11:21pm)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. – Two days before he and his family were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide, pro wrestler Chris Benoit told co-workers his wife and son had food poisoning and were throwing up, according to World Wrestling Entertainment.\nBenoit strangled his wife, suffocated his 7-year-old son and placed a Bible next to each of their bodies before hanging himself with a weight-machine pulley, authorities said Tuesday.\nAuthorities offered no motive for the killings, which were spread out over the weekend and discovered Monday. No suicide note was found.\nOn Saturday, Benoit called a co-worker to say he had missed a flight and would be late for a wrestling event in Texas, WWE said in a timeline posted Tuesday on its Web site. The co-worker said Benoit sounded tired and groggy and said “I love you,” which the co-worker found “out of context,” WWE said.\nWhen a co-worker who usually travels with Benoit called him later from the Houston airport, Benoit told the co-worker his wife, Nancy, was throwing up blood and that his son, Daniel, also was throwing up. Benoit said he thought it was food poisoning, according to WWE.\nAfter Benoit talked to a WWE Talent Relations representative, the representative suggested Benoit try to make it to a pay-per-view event in Houston since he would not be able to make it to the live event in Beaumont, Texas.\nBut early Sunday, two co-workers received a series of text messages from the cell phones of Benoit and his wife. Most stated his home address in Fayetteville, about 20 miles south of Atlanta. One message from Benoit’s phone said: “The dogs are in the enclosed pool area. Garage side door is open,” according to WWE.\nThe text messages led WWE to ask authorities to check on Benoit and his family.\nDistrict Attorney Scott Ballard said the messages appeared to be an attempt by Benoit to get someone to the home to find the bodies after his suicide.\nInvestigators found anabolic steroids in the house and want to know whether the muscle man nicknamed “The Canadian Crippler” was unhinged by the bodybuilding drugs, which can cause paranoia, depression and explosive outbursts known as “roid rage.”\n“In a community like this, it’s bizarre to have a murder-suicide, especially involving the death of a 7-year-old,” Ballard said. “I don’t think we’ll ever be able to wrap our minds around this.”\nHe said Benoit’s 43-year-old wife was killed Friday in an upstairs family room, and her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle. Daniel was probably killed late Saturday or early Sunday, and his body was found in his bed, the district attorney said.\nBenoit, 40, apparently hanged himself hours later, Ballard said. His body was found in a downstairs weight room hanging from the pulley of a piece of exercise equipment.\nThe prosecutor said it appeared the wrestler remained in the house for up to a day with the bodies.\nThe boy had old needle marks in his arms, Ballard said. He said he had been told the parents considered him undersized and had given him growth hormones.\n“The boy was very small, even dwarfed,” Ballard said.\nToxicology test results may not be available for weeks or even months, Ballard said. As for whether steroids played a role in the crime, he said: “We don’t know yet. That’s one of the things we’ll be looking at.”\nBenoit received drug deliveries from a Florida business that sold steroids, human growth hormone and testosterone on the Internet, according to the Albany County, N.Y., District Attorney’s Office, which is investigating the business, www.medflife.com.\nSix people, including two of the pharmacy’s owners, have pleaded guilty in the investigation, and 20 more have been arrested, including doctors and pharmacists.\nThe WWE, based in Stamford, Conn., issued a statement Tuesday saying steroids “were not and could not be related to the cause of death.”\n“The physical findings announced by authorities indicate deliberation, not rage,” the company said, adding that Benoit tested negative April 10, the last time he was tested for drugs.\nSteroids have been linked to the deaths of several professional wrestlers in recent years. Eddie Guerrero, one of Benoit’s best friends, died in 2005 from heart failure linked to long-term steroid use.\nThe father of Curt “Mr. Perfect” Hennig blamed steroids and painkillers for Hennig’s drug overdose death in 2003. Davey Boy Smith, the “British Bulldog,” died in 2002 from heart failure that a coroner said was probably caused by steroids.\nAssociated Press writers Debbie Newby and Jason Bronis contributed to this report.
(06/27/07 11:21pm)
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird says he plans to improve the team and make the playoffs next year. He just isn’t sure how yet.\nThe Pacers don’t have a draft pick Thursday. But Bird said there’s a 50-50 chance the team will work its way into the draft.\nIn the meantime, the Pacers continue to assess prospects.\n“There’s a lot of talk that, if you don’t have a pick, do you still prepare yourself for the draft?” Bird said during a pre-draft news conference Tuesday. “We would do that whether we had five picks or no picks, because you’ve got to know. At the last minute, if the phone rings, somebody might want to sell their pick, or trade a future pick for one now. So we prepare just like we had a lottery pick.”\nThe Pacers missed out on a top three pick in the draft lottery and had to send their No. 11 pick to Atlanta as part of the trade that brought Al Harrington to the Pacers last summer. Harrington was later traded away in a multiplayer deal. The Pacers lost this year’s second-round pick when they traded to get James White in last year’s draft.\nNow, the Pacers are scrambling to fill their primary need – perimeter shooting. Bird wouldn’t say if that could be done with a draft pick or through a trade.\n“We will get a good shooter,” he said. “We’ll get one of the top shooters in the league. May not be one of the biggest names in the league, but we will get a guy that can shoot the basketball.”\nBird also wouldn’t say how many picks the Pacers were trying to get, or who might be traded to get them.\n“It’s according to what we do,” he said. “I’m not going to sit here and say we have multiple picks, but if we can do something to get into the draft and we like it, we will.”\nJermaine O’Neal has been consistently linked to trade rumors since the Pacers’ season ended. The team’s top player averaged 19.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in one of the best seasons of his 11-year career. He’s a six-time All-Star who finished third in fan voting this year for the Pacers’ 40th anniversary team.\nEarlier this summer, O’Neal denied reports that he had demanded a trade to the New York Knicks. He has clearly stated that he doesn’t want to be part of a rebuilding project, but Bird has said he wants to win now and add pieces.\nPart of Bird’s hesitance in jumping into the draft is that he doesn’t know if what’s out there is better than the young talent he already has. Danny Granger, David Harrison, Ike Diogu and Shawne Williams all are under 25.\n“We’ve had a lot of discussions about it, a lot of calls,” Bird said. “We like our corps of young players, and so does everybody else in the league. They’re trying to get them and trade them for draft picks. We don’t know if we want to go that route.”
(06/25/07 12:15am)
ATLANTA (AP) - Braves manager Bobby Cox wasn’t going to argue with plate umpire Chad Fairchild, and he ended up with a record-tying ejection anyway.\nCox was tossed from Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers in the bottom of the ninth inning. He ran onto the field too late to save Brian McCann from being ejected by Fairchild.\nCox’s ejection gave him 131 for his career, tying the record set by John McGraw. He already has the record for most ejections by a manager, since 14 of McGraw’s came as a player.\n“That means you’ve managed a long time,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said.\nMcCann argued with Fairchild about a called third strike from Todd Jones. The pitch appeared to be low.\nCox said he didn’t come onto the field to argue; he was only trying to keep McCann in the game in case of extra innings. He ended up arguing up with Fairchild after McCann was ejected.\n“He was the only catcher I had left,” Cox said.\nSaid McCann: “The pitch was below my knee. It almost hit the ground. The ball wasn’t a strike. I’m pretty sure (Cox) didn’t think it was a strike, either.”\nCox has been reluctant to say much about the record, and Braves general manager John Schuerholz said there would be no public recognition of a milestone that his manager would rather ignore.\n“It’s kind of embarrassing,” Cox said recently.\nThe mark doesn’t show up in any official record books but was diligently compiled by the Society for American Baseball Research.\nThe Braves loss was their fourth straight and the team scored only one run during their skid. Cox has been ejected six times this season.\nLeyland said Cox doesn’t need to worry about the record clouding his career.\n“The guy has been doing this better than anybody for a long time,” Leyland said.
(06/25/07 12:14am)
COLUMBUS, Ohio – It was a red, white and blue night all around the NHL draft.\nAlready prominent as the colors of the host Columbus Blue Jackets, the shades took on a more important role as American players were taken with the top two picks for the first time in draft history.\nThe Chicago Blackhawks, trying to rebuild a once-proud franchise after four consecutive losing seasons, selected Buffalo, N.Y., native Patrick Kane with the No. 1 selection Friday night. Then the Philadelphia Flyers chose left wing James vanRiemsdyk, a member of the U.S. National Team Development Program from Middletown, N.J.\n“It’s amazing. It’s something I’ll never forget,” vanRiemsdyk said. “It just shows how American hockey has taken huge strides. Two Americans going with the first two picks – it’s an honor. I’m happy to be a part of it.”\nWith the third pick, Phoenix took Kyle Turris, the highly touted center who’s already committed to play at the University of Wisconsin. The Los Angeles Kings selected defenseman Thomas Hickey with pick No. 4 – surprising many of the experts – and the Washington Capitals grabbed the top-rated defenseman, Karl Alzner, at No. 5.\nBut the night belonged to USA Hockey.\n“It’s good to have the No. 1 and No. 2 picks,” said Kane, a 5-foot-9, 160-pound right wing who had 62 goals and 83 assists in 58 games last season for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. “It’s unbelievable. It’s good to see the Americans start coming into the league.”\nIn 1983 and 2005, U.S. players were picked with two of the top three selections. There were 10 Americans chosen in the first round of this draft, tying the record set in 2006. The selection process resumes Saturday for the final six rounds.\nRated the No. 2 skater in North America by the NHL Central Scouting Service, Kane is expected to give the Blackhawks a creative scorer and deft puck-handler.\nThe 6-3, 200-pound vanRiemsdyk had 33 goals and 30 assists in 42 games for the U.S. Under-18 team a year ago.\nAfter Edmonton selected center Sam Gagner, a teammate of Kane’s in London, the biggest roar of the night came when the host Blue Jackets grabbed right wing Jakub Voracek. He comes from the same hometown (Kladno, Czech Republic) as New York Rangers star Jaromir Jagr, who has 621 goals and 907 assists in his 16-year career in the NHL.\nThe loudest boos of the night came when the Detroit Red Wings took Brendan Smith with the 27th pick. Folks from Columbus, home of Ohio State University, can’t pass up an opportunity to boo any team from Michigan.\nThe biggest surprise was how far forwards Alexei Cherepanov and Angelo Esposito dropped.\nEsposito, ranked No. 1 in central scouting’s midseason report, hoped to go to the hometown Montreal Canadiens with the 12th pick but instead had to wait eight more selections until Pittsburgh added him to its stable of young, talented forwards at No. 20.\nCherepanov’s unexpected wait ended earlier, but it was every bit as long for the Russian right winger. The Rangers took him with the 17th pick, after he slid through the round for a variety of reasons. Cherepanov, who said he will play another season with his hometown Omsk team, broke Pavel Bure’s rookie record by scoring 18 goals in Russia’s elite league.
(06/25/07 12:13am)
Past, current Hoosiers \ncompete at USA Track Championships
(06/25/07 12:08am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana All-Star Eric Gordon made quite an impression on Kentucky All-Star coach Ron Bevars.\nGordon, the 2007 Indiana Mr. Basketball, had a game-high 20 points to lead the Indiana All-Stars to a 104-87 victory over the Kentucky All-Stars in Saturday’s annual matchup of the states’ top high school seniors.\nIn last week’s opening game of the home-and-home series, Gordon scored 32 as Indiana beat Kentucky 97-79 in Bowling Green, Ky.\n“In the state of Indiana, he’s Michael Jordan,” Bevars said following Saturday’s game at Conseco Fieldhouse. “He might be making a living (in professional basketball) if it wasn’t for the fact he has to go to college.”\nGordon’s effort helped Indiana win its seventh consecutive game against Kentucky and improve its all-time series lead to 79-41.\n“It’s a big thing for Indiana and it takes a lot of pride,” said Gordon, who will play for IU next season. “I know I take a lot of pride in it.”\nScott Martin was named the Most Valuable Player after finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Indiana, which turned an eight-point deficit into a commanding 47-31 halftime lead.\n“Some baskets went down and we got on a roll,” said Martin, who’s headed to Purdue. “We started knocking down shots and that’s what helped us.”\nAustin Hill had 19 points, Steffphon Pettigrew scored 14 and Matt Walls chipped in 13 for Kentucky, which shot 38 percent from the field and committed 18 turnovers.\n“I think we got beat by a better basketball team,” Bevars said. “It would have been a whole lot of fun to watch the Indiana team play if I hadn’t been coaching on the side.”\nAfter falling behind early in the first half, Indiana tied the score at 19 on Ben Botts’ 3-pointer, and minutes later, Gordon’s triple gave Indiana a 32-21 advantage with 6 minutes left.\nIndiana extended its lead to 75-48 following Nate Blank’s 3-pointer with 11:37 remaining in the second half.\n“This wasn’t the prettiest win, but we fought back hard to gain control,” Indiana coach Mike Miller said. “This is a group of very talented guys and they know how to play hard against a physical team like Kentucky.”\nIndiana got a balanced scoring attack with five players finishing in double figures. Matt Howard had 12 points, Botts 11 and Blank 10.\n“It’s good because it’s easier for everybody to contribute,” Gordon said. “It wasn’t just one guy trying to take over.”
(06/22/07 6:25pm)
The IU board of trustees reached an agreement Thursday to replace Assembly Hall when an appropriate time comes.\n“It is the opinion of some people that it is just not the best facility for basketball. If we’re going to have a top-flight program in basketball, we need to have a top-flight facility,” trustee Clarence Boone said.\nAn estimate from HOK Sports, an architecture firm based out of Kansas City, said the total cost for a new arena would be between $130 and $160 million.\nBoone said no timetable was set on the project, because the board feels that IU Athletics has enough projects at present, with the recent groundbreaking for renovations and additions to athletics facilities, as well as all-new facilities, around Memorial Stadium and Assembly Hall. \n“We have other things we have to do right now, and when time allows for us to put forth proper fundraising and planning to do it, the board will look at it then,” he said.\nNo decision has been reached whether Assembly Hall will be replaced or renovated, but the decision is projected to come within the next decade, Boone said.\n“When the appropriate time comes, consideration will be given to what will be done and who will do it,” Boone said.\nRight now, Boone said, it is impossible to fund a renovation or replacement of the 35-year-old facility because attention is on other athletic improvements.\n“You can only do so many things at one time,” he said.
(06/21/07 4:00am)
For a guy who proclaimed ad nauseam on his last album that "you people are gonna respect me if it kills you," London rapper Dizzee Rascal's decision to withhold his third album, Maths + English, from North American music retailers' shelves is a surprisingly weak move. If you want a copy of the record, Amazon UK is your best option, but that shipping cost stings. Which is a shame because it's a hell of a record, nearly equaling the aesthetic mastery of Dizzee's 2003 debut. \nThere's really only one weak cut here. The infantile schoolyard taunt of the unfortunately titled "Suk My Dick" belongs somewhere on a Ja Rule record, not a Dizzee one. That aside, Dizzee reinvigorates rap/rock with "Sirens" and crafts a superbly listenable club banger on "Flex." Dizzee's thick, often impenetrable accent is still a deal breaker for some, but the man commands one of the densest flows in the rap industry today. \nAnd he doesn't enlist much help, either, which is always a plus in the age of endless "featuring" tracks. Rascal self-produces, and there are only four guest artists on "Maths," two of whom aren't even rappers. Texan rhymers Bun B and Pimp C from UGK guest on "Where's da G's," an engaging but slightly formulaic back and forth. Later, songstress Lily Allen shows up on the effectively lighthearted "Wanna Be," and the Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner provides a chorus on the all-too-brief album highlight "Temptation." \nDizzee is at his best on tracks like "Pussyole (Oldskool)" and "Bubbles," both relentless and both high atop the list of 2007's best rap tracks. On the instructional track "Hardback (Industry)" (think the UK equivalent of Biggie's "Ten Crack Commandments"), Dizzee outlines how to achieve success in the rap world. I just hope Dizzee's questionable marketing move with Maths + English isn't a part of that plan.
(06/21/07 4:00am)
I am excited to play Pac-Man again.\nI can barely believe it, but "Pac-Man Championship Edition" makes the nearly three-decade-old game new and fun to play again.\nLike the original, "Championship Edition" boils down to eating power pellets while chasing and being chased around a maze by ghosts.\nBut the action is kicked up a notch when the maze is constantly changing every time Pac-Man eats more fruit.\nAnd instead of having a set number of lives, the five modes here are timed, with the action getting faster and faster as the clock winds down.\nIt makes for an incredibly frantic experience akin to another Arcade hit, "Geometry Wars." \nAdd in some slightly updated graphics and a cool new electronica soundtrack, and you've got one of the best downloadable games out there.\nOverseen by Toru Iwatani, the original creator of Pac-Man, this is the first true sequel to the game that actually adds a few meaningful twists to the Pac-Man formula while staying true to its roots.\nThis could have probably been a full retail release, and it would have been worth a budget price. At $10 it's a steal and one of the best exclusives on the Xbox 360.
(06/21/07 4:00am)
WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE AS FLEETING AS THE\nFESTIVAL ITSELF. WHERE TIME IS MEASURED\nIN SET LENGTH, SUN STRENGTH AND THE SORENESS\nOF YOUR SOLES. WHERE SPACE IS CONQUERABLE\nTHROUGH THE POWER OF MUSIC. WHERE\nTHE QUESTION IS NOT WHEN OR WHY, BUT HOW?\nWHERE THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS BONNAROO.
(06/21/07 4:00am)
The festival technically started when Ryan Shaw took the stage Thursday evening, but things didn't really heat up until The Roots took to the main stage Friday. From there, literally everything just kept getting hotter and hotter.\nAfter performing with The Roots, Questlove took the stage again that night with Ben Harper and John Paul Johns from Led Zepplin for the evening's Super Jam. The trio set the stage on fire for more than two hours, and the weather took notice, climbing into the 90s the next day. \nPeople kept cool by attacking the water stations, splashing around in the center fountain or just seeking every square inch of shade that was available. By the end of the weekend, the seats below the bleachers were in higher demand than those on top of them. \nSaturday brought a fat stack of music, including an afternoon set that featured Ben Harper, Franz Ferdinand, Ween and Spoon -- all at the same time. When the sun set and the heat subsided, The Police lit up the earth while The Flaming Lips aimed for the stars. \nBy Sunday, the thousands in attendance shared one common sensation: exhaustion. Bodies littered the festival grounds with more frequency than garbage. The Decembrists and Wilco had to play to half-dead crowds, but The White Stripes help rejuvinate the atmosphere as the sun set on the final day.\nIn the end, the combination of heat, lack of sleep and Zepplin jams left everyone dazed and confuzed.
(06/21/07 1:05am)
• The Walk\nHoeppner started a pregame tradition where the team took a bus to the Woodlawn Fields across from Memorial Stadium. They left the bus and greeted fans before walking together across the street to Assembly Hall. At Assembly Hall, they turned left toward Memorial Stadium, and entered to the locker room through a gauntlet of fans.
(06/21/07 12:05am)
“Coach Hoeppner was more than an inspirational football coach. He was a quintessential Hoosier man – a hard-nosed, hard-working, father figure who cared deeply about his community, his family and his players. For nearly three decades, Coach Hoeppner helped mold athletes into fine football players and, more importantly, finer men. He leaves the Hoosiers a better football team than he found it, and he leaves the entire Indiana University community richer for having known him. From this day forward, every time a Hoosier football player touches the fabled limestone boulder as he runs into Memorial Stadium, it will be a reminder of the proud legacy left by this extraordinary native son.”\n– U.S. Senator Evan Bayh (D-Ind.)
(06/20/07 11:58pm)
INDIANAPOLIS – Stephen Jackson pleaded guilty Wednesday to criminal recklessness for firing a gun outside a strip club and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service.\nIn exchange for the guilty plea, the Golden State Warrior player had a one-year jail sentence suspended, and the judge ordered him to serve a year’s probation. Two misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct were dismissed as part of the agreement with prosecutors.\nJackson said he was happy the case was finished.\n“It’s a position I put myself in, but I thank God that it’s over with,” Jackson, dressed in a dark suit with no tie, said after the hearing.\nJackson was arrested with two other men outside Indianapolis’ Club Rio on Oct. 6 while he was playing for the Indiana Pacers. He told police he fired shots in the air to try to break up a fight. The original criminal recklessness charge carried a prison term of six months to three years.\nJackson was traded from the Pacers to Golden State in January.\nIn February, Deon Willford, who hit Jackson with a car during the incident, was convicted of felony battery in a bench trial and sentenced to two years in prison, two years on probation and 100 hours community service.\nWillford was ordered by the judge to pay some of the costs of $1,400 worth of dental work Jackson needed after the fight. Jackson chipped some teeth and had to have plastic surgery on his lip.\nWillford hit Jackson with his car after the fight started. Willford claimed self defense at his trial, testifying that Jackson was walking toward his car and pointing a gun at him.\nOther witnesses said Jackson was walking away from Willford’s car and had no weapon out when he was hit. Jackson testified at the trial that he was hit after he fired shots in the air from his pearl-handled 9 mm pistol to try to break up the fight.\nJackson’s attorney told the judge that Jackson’s athletic ability allowed him to leap out of the car’s path and avoid more serious injuries.\nThe third man charged, Raymel Mattocks, pleaded guilty last month to possession of marijuana and was fined $1,000 and given a 60-day suspended sentence.\nThe fight started after Willford’s cousin, Quentin “Fingers” Willford, got into an argument with a group of people who accompanied Jackson to the club.\nThat group includes current Pacers Jamaal Tinsley and Marquis Daniels, who were not charged. Both do face charges in a separate bar scuffle that police say happened on Feb. 6.\nAt the time, Jackson was on probation for his role in a brawl between Indiana Pacers players and Detroit Pistons fans in 2004. Jackson pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault and battery charges in September 2005 for his role in the 2004 brawl.\nA Michigan judge ruled that the Indiana charges constituted a violation of Jackson’s probation.
(06/19/07 2:55pm)
Kelvin Sampson fulfilled his promise to bring the state of Indiana’s best players to IU. Now the Hoosiers coach has recruited New York’s finest.\nDevin Ebanks, a 6-foot-8 forward regarded as one of the top 15 recruits in the class of 2008, held a press conference Saturday to announce his verbal commitment to the Hoosiers. \nThe New York City native was playing in his home state this weekend for his Amateur Athletic Union squad, Team Take Over, at the Battle In The Bronx Tournament at Fordham University. After his game Saturday morning, Ebanks made his announcement with his family by his side. \n“Me and my family agree that Indiana is the best situation,” Ebanks told cable television network CSTV.\nThe turning point in Ebanks’ recruitment came in mid-May when the forward traveled to Bloomington for the adidas May Classic. Up to that point, University of Miami in Florida appeared to be Ebanks’ favorite in his recruitment, but the Hoosiers surged forward in the race after Ebanks and Sampson sat down and talked in person. \nToward the end of his visit to IU’s campus, Ebanks described his college decision as “neck and neck” between the two schools. In the end, IU may have won the recruiting battle due to Sampson’s ability to help Ebanks concentrate in areas where he might need improvement. \n“He is a hardworking coach, and if I come here he will really help me with my defense,” Ebanks said last month in Bloomington. “He says he is a defensive coach, and I really need to work on my defense.”\nIn addition to his contact with Sampson, IU assistant and fellow New York native Rob Senderoff heavily recruited Ebanks. \nEbanks is the third player to verbally commit to IU’s recruiting class of 2008. The Hoosiers have also received commitments from Scott County, Ky., native Bud Mackey and Fort Wayne North Side’s E’Shaunte “Bear” Jones. \nWhen Ebanks and Jones arrive on campus next summer, it will be the second time the two players will have competed on the same team. Last month, Jones played with Ebanks and Team Take Over in the adidas May Classic. \nRivals.com ranks the Oakdale, Ct., St. Thomas More prep school’s to-be-senior as the No. 11 recruit in the class of 2008 and is viewed as a program-altering type recruit. Ebanks has the versatility to play above the rim and behind the arc and has a skill set comparable to recent college stars Rudy Gay and Kevin Durant. \nLater this week, Ebanks will travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., to compete at the 2007 USA Basketball Men’s Youth Development Festival. The invitation-only tournament consists of 30 of the nation’s top high school underclassmen. \nWith scholarships still available for the class of 2008, the Hoosiers will most likely focus their next recruiting efforts on adding a post player or a point guard. Included in the Hoosiers 2008 targets are East Chicago, Ind., foward Angel Garcia; Saginaw, Mich., power foward Draymond Green; Washington, Ill., point guard Lewis Jackson and Montverde Academy, Fla., point guard Dashan Harris.
(06/19/07 2:55pm)
Only a handful of IU baseball players have had success at the major league level.\nNow another former Hoosier, catcher Jon Fixler, is looking to be the next. The junior from Riverwoods, Ill., will forgo his senior season and play for the Houston Astros Single A affiliate Tri-City Valleycats after being selected in the draft’s 19th round.\nFixler leaves IU after finishing fourth on the team in batting with a .286 and leading the team with 35 RBIs. \nHis minor league career will begin June 23 when the Valleycats season begins.\nFixler became the first Hoosier since Corby Heckman in 2005 to be picked in the MLB draft and the 21st player since 2000 under IU Coach Tracy Smith to be drafted.
