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(05/08/08 1:56pm)
The No. 38 IU men’s tennis team (16-9, 5-5) began its 2008 campaign with one goal – to make it to the NCAA regional tournament in May.\nLast Tuesday, during the NCAA selection show hosted by ESPN, the Hoosiers found out their goal had been accomplished.\nThe selection committee picked the Hoosiers to play in the regional hosted by No. 4 University of Mississippi, who would be IU’s second-round match-up if they can get by No. 29 Vanderbilt University in round one.\nThe Commodores, despite winning only five matches in conference play, managed to notch 13 overall wins and retain their top-30 ranking nationally.\nAfter a disappointing 5-2 loss to Penn State on April 20 in their final match of the regular season, first-year IU head coach Randy Bloemendaal said with a few wins in the conference tournament the team could receive an NCAA bid.\nDespite winning only one match in the Big Ten Tournament, Bloemendaal and his young Hoosier squad are headed for their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2001. The bid this year marks the Hoosiers’ fifth-ever appearance in the tournament.\nIn their last match, IU fell to a talented No. 15 Illinois squad for the second time this season. The Illini swept the Hoosiers in the second round of the conference tournament as play was halted after the score read 4-0.\nIU matches up well with the Commodores, beginning with doubles matches, which were the Hoosiers’ most consistent strengths t’s top ranked doubles tandem of No. 45 Ryan Preston and Vijay Paul come in one slot higher than No. 46 Phillip Eilers and Lachlan Ferguson.\nThe Hoosiers haven’t faced Vanderbilt since 2005 and hold a 14-7 lead in the all-time series against them. The Commodores managed a 3-1 record against Big Ten foes this season, with their lone loss coming against Michigan – a team the Hoosiers handled well in a 5-2 victory on Senior Day in Bloomington.\nIU hopes to improve on their 1-4 record all-time in the NCAA tournament. Their only win came against nonconference rival Kentucky in 2000. They defeated the Wildcats in a 4-1 decision.\nThe Hoosiers are tentatively slotted to play at 3 p.m. Friday.his season. Vanderbilt
(05/05/08 2:17am)
When viewed in context, the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini- Marathon is quite a paradox. According to the 500 Festival Web site, “the mission of the 500 Festival is to produce events and programs that celebrate the success of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.” \nFor anyone who has made their way to Speedway, Ind., on Memorial Day weekend, they know the Greatest Spectacle in Racing is also one of the Greatest Spectacles in Partying: a weekend full of beer drinking, grilling out, cornhole and cutoff-jeans shorts. So a fitness event like the Indianapolis Mini Marathon, which draws more than 35,000 health-conscious runners and walkers, seems like an odd choice to “celebrate” a weekend of debauchery.\nBut as a true Indianapolis native, this 21-year-old, somewhat-active college student decided to participate in both events for the second year in a row. Here’s a mile-by-mile breakdown of this year’s Mini from a runner’s perspective.\n6:50 a.m.: I arrive in downtown Indianapolis. “I should have gotten more sleep,” I think as I slowly step out of the car.\n7:06 a.m.: I make my way to my designated start area. Through the crowd I can see a Subway. “I wonder if Jared’s here.” (After the race, I find out he was.) Beach balls are floating over the crowd.\n7:31 a.m.: The walk to the starting line begins. I cross the line more than 5 minutes after the front of the pack. Runners range from eight to 80. \nMile 1: As the race starts, we pass Victory Field, the NCAA Hall of Champions and the Indianapolis Zoo. A bagpiper plays as I watch unregistered runners jump into the pack.\nMile 2: Another thing about the Mini are the many music acts lining the streets. Were there this many bands last year? I keep a count: 18 so far. A 10-year-old passes me.\nMile 3: My legs are tight. I spill my first cup of Gatorade all over me. Ten more miles. \nMile 4: I haven’t run this long in a while. Maybe I should slow down a bit. A large, seemingly out-of-shape bald man passes me. I keep my pace. \nMile 5: As a Christian rap group cheers on runners in the middle of the road, I spot two guys dressed as Superman and Spiderman. Those suits must be hot.\nMile 6: We approach the Motor Speedway. The last time I went down 16th street into the track, I was carrying a cooler. \nMile 7: A big screen at the track shows the finishers cross the line in just more than 1 hour and 2 minutes. I approach the front stretch of the track. I spot my usual race-day seats. \nMile 8: The musical acts have been replaced by grade-school cheerleaders. If a group of 13-year-old cheerleaders tell me I can do it, then I can do it. I start to get my second wind.\nMile 9: Who here is 50? a man in front of me yells. He receives a few cheers in response from the mass of runners. I’m 47, another man yells. Close enough. I speed up.\nMile 10: Band No. 54 is the second group to play Tom Petty’s “Last Dance with Mary Jane.” I count a Scandinavian polka band as No. 55. \nMile 11: I get my third wind as a Colonel Sanders look-alike watches on from the side of the road. I’m legitimately creeped out. A table is handing out small cups of beer. I think about it, but it’s Keystone Light.\nMile 12: I started to kick up the pace, partly from adrenaline but mostly from wanting to be done. Soon I can stop. \nFINISH: I’m in a full sprint for the last .1 mile, or as fast as a sprint can be after 13 miles. The road is lined with tons of people cheering. I dodge a guy who stops before the finish line. It’s over. Three weeks till the 500.
(05/05/08 2:15am)
The school year might be over, but the action has just begun for the men’s and women’s track teams.\nBoth squads are gearing up for their most important meets of the year –the Big Ten championships, regional championships and, hopefully, the national championships.\nThis weekend, the teams traveled to Columbus, Ohio compete in the Jesse Owens Track and Field Classic. Freshman Andy Weatherford started off the meet strong for the Hoosiers on Friday night. \nWeatherford, who won the Indiana State Championship in the mile during his sophomore year of high school on the same track he now calls home, ran in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The steeplechase had several elite athletes representing Reebok, Adidas and New Balance. Weatherford excelled, finishing 14th overall and third-best among collegiates. \nThe Greencastle native bettered his previous best in the steeplechase by nearly 10 seconds when he crossed the finish line in 9:04.89. Weatherford’s time also qualifies him for the NCAA Regional competition later this month. IU coach Ron Helmer said his freshman is working hard and seeing results. \n“I think he is getting better and better,” he said. “He really likes this event.”\nWhen the Hoosiers returned to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon, they experienced more success. The men’s 4-by-100-meter relay team took top honors, winning the race in 40.54 seconds. \nSenior Kiwan Lawson also won the high jump with a leap of 8.09 meters, which converts to more than 26 1/2 feet. Lawson’s mark did not qualify him for regionals, however, because it was aided too much by the wind. But he still received praise from his coach. \n“8.09, even though it was windy, was incredible,” Helmer said. \nOn the women’s side, the Hoosiers also competed well. Sophomore Vera Neuenswander and junior Molly Beckwith captured individual titles in their respective events. Beckwith came through the finish in the 800-meter run with a new career best of 2:06.46, an improvement on her 2:06.67 time that qualified her for the NCAA Indoor Championships.\nBeckwith’s time in the race bettered not only the regional standard, but also was faster than the Olympic “B” qualifying standard. In addition to the two qualifications, her time came within .02 seconds of fifth all-time on the outdoor list. Beckwith is the school record-holder for the indoor 800-meter run. \nTeammate Audrey Smoot followed Beckwith in the 800-meter race, finishing fifth with a time of 2:10.06. Smoot scored her first points in a Big Ten meet earlier this year when she won the 600-meter run at the Indoor Big Ten Championships. \nNeuenswander captured a victory in the pole vault competition, jumping 4.00 meters. \nOther Hoosiers also set personal bests despite having to compete in some rainy and windy conditions. Freshman Cole Hardacre was the second-best collegiate in the 5,000-meter run in 14:34.11. Sophomore Jared Nuxoll’s jump of 2.07 meters in the high jump was also a personal best. \nThe team will head back to Bloomington to train through the week in preparation for Friday, when it hosts the Billy Hayes Invitational.
(05/02/08 9:55pm)
Former Indiana University coach Kelvin Sampson has agreed to become a Milwaukee Bucks assistant under Scott Skiles, a person with knowledge of the hiring told The Associated Press on Friday.
(05/02/08 6:47pm)
Another day brings more changes for the men''''s basketball team. \nIU coach Tom Crean announced in a statement this afternoon that junior forward DeAndre Thomas will be dismissed from the team. In addition, suspended guards Armon Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis were informed they would also not be reinstated.\nThis news comes a day after forward Eli Holman told Crean he will not return for 2008-09 season, in a situation that ended with the police being dispatched.\n"Before you build a team you need to develop a family," Crean said in a press release. "We will go through the learning process, feel some growing pains and experience some bumps in the road along the way. We need the Hoosier Nation to rally around this program as we go through these stages."\nThe dismissals leave the Hoosiers with only three players returning to the active roster - sophomore guards Jordan Crawford and Brandon McGee and forward Kyle Taber, along with walk-on Brett Finklemeier.\nIn his brief and eventful tenure as the program''''s 28th head coach, Crean has already brought in four new players - freshmen Nick Williams, Tom Pritchard, Matt Roth and junior-college transfer Devon Dumes - to help fill a vacant roster.\n"Our staff if going to ensure that anyone who attends this University and wears the Indiana uniform will make this privilege among their highest priorities and not treat the opportunity as an entitlement," Crean said in a press release.\n"We fully expect our student-athletes to accept the responsibilities academically, athletically and socially that come with representing one of the top programs in college basketball history"
(05/02/08 3:06am)
I grew up in a Big Ten family in the heart of Big Ten country. College athletics weren’t about diversion so much as they were about conversion in my household. As a kid, my first glimpse of college life came on autumn afternoons with the football stadium packed shoulder-to-shoulder and the music of the marching band rising into a cloudless sky. Nothing was more beautiful than that to me. So naturally when the time came to choose a college, I used my brain, listened to my heart and chose a school that understood the importance of balls: IU. Where else in the Midwest would I be able to satisfy my sporting fix?\nDuring my four years in Bloomington, I not only got a chance to witness the ups and downs of IU athletics as a fan, I also seized the opportunity to share the stories of coaches and athletes and even write my two cents as an IDS reporter and columnist. For a Big Ten boy, it has been a dream come true and an education unto itself.\nIf there’s anything I’ve learned in my time rooting and writing about IU sports, it’s that turnover is something that applies to more than just the playing field. Since I arrived on campus in the fall of 2004 as a naïve freshman, not one football and men’s basketball coach pairing has started and finished the same academic year. Sometimes coaches received the boot due to incompetence (Gerry DiNardo). Sometimes coaches left town due to unpopularity (Mike Davis); other times, just plain stupidity (Kelvin Sampson). And sometimes, coaches said good-bye before we were ready (Terry Hoeppner).\nYears from now, when reminiscing about my happy days in Hoosierville, I’ll forgo the traditional inclusion of student standing in my stories and instead use the football and men’s basketball coach pairing as the timekeepers of my glory days. I’ll say things like, “During my Lynch/Sampson semester of college, my intramural flag football team made it to the championship game” and “I’ll never forget that first party I went to during my DiNardo/Davis days.” Only true Hoosier fans will be able to follow.\nFew distinct memories of my college career don’t involve a sporting experience — or at least a TV depicting a sporting experience. I’ve witnessed big kicks (IU takes the 2004 College Cup!) and listened to big pricks (Best of luck in Milwaukee, Kelvin). I’ve watched fizzling shooting stars (Eric Gordon) and sizzling Starr’s shooting (Austin Starr kicks IU into a bowl game!). I’ve taken part in the cheers (Go Big Red!). I’ve shed a few tears (R.I.P. Coach Hep). And, yes, I’ve downed my fair share of beers (light beer, of course).\nThough I walk away from this campus with two degrees, I would gladly trade my hard-earned pieces of paper for the thrill of two national championship runs. Academic accomplishments seem fleeting. Banners last forever.\nEntering the next phase of my life, I’ll draw from the knowledge I’ve accumulated from IU athletics figures past and present. I’m taking with me the tireless optimism of Coach Hep, the belief that anything is possible if you want it bad enough. I’m taking with me the lessons learned from the downfall of a figure like Kelvin Sampson. I’m taking with me the wisdom of people like longtime men’s basketball trainer Tim Garl, who once told me the value of humility in athletics by saying, “You should be disappointed when you lose and not overly joyous when you win because the game will embarrass you.” Garl might as well have been talking about life.\nThat’s the kind of Big Ten education I couldn’t have gotten in a classroom.
(04/28/08 4:35am)
The No. 37 IU men’s tennis team (16-9, 6-6) got the rematch it sought with No. 15 Illinois, but not the result the team hoped for Friday at Iowa in the second round of the Big Ten championships.\nAfter losing to the Illini 5-2 on April 13 in Champaign, Ill., the Hoosiers went on to win two of their next three, including a win over No. 17 Michigan and a victory over Northwestern in the first round in the Big Ten Tournament. \nThe Hoosiers were excited for the opportunity to play the Illini again, a team they competed well against and believed they were level with in talent, senior Dara McLoughlin said. \nUnfortunately for the Hoosiers, the momentum from the 4-0 sweep of the Wildcats on Thursday was not enough to take down the talented Illinois squad. After winning two doubles matches and earning the match’s first point, the Illini went on to win the first three singles matches and captured the match by a 4-0 decision. \nSeniors Thomas Richter, McLoughlin and freshman Santiago Gruter were unable to complete their matches because officials halted play once the match was decided at 4-0. Richter and McLoughlin’s undefeated play as a doubles pair stayed intact Friday as their doubles match at No. 2 was also halted. \nFreshman Phillip Eilers, Lachlan Ferguson and senior Michael McCarthy were all defeated in straight sets in singles matches No.3 through No. 5. \nRichter was named to the All-Big Ten first team on Thursday night at the Big Ten awards banquet. The senior was also just recently tabbed in the top 125 players nationally, falling in at No. 120.\nThe Hoosiers will find out their NCAA postseason fate as the selected teams will be announced on Tuesday, April 29. The selection show will air at 2:30 pm on ESPNEWS.
(04/27/08 7:37pm)
IU's James Hardy and Tracy Porter spent three seasons together on the field and on Saturday the talented tandem both entered the NFL a pick apart.\nThe New Orleans Saints made cornerback Porter its 40th overall pick Saturday, and before Hardy had a chance to congratulate his buddy, Hardy's name was called, too. He was taken 41st by the Buffalo Bills.\n"He's a great friend," Porter said. "When you have a top corner and a top receiver going at it in practice, it's designed to make each other better. So it was fitting that we went there together."\nIt was a surprise turnabout for the Hoosiers.\nAt IU, Hardy stole most of the headlines and in the workouts leading up to the draft, Hardy again appeared to be at the head of the Hoosiers' class. Some mock drafts projected the 6-foot-6 receiver, who left school a year early, to go late in the first round and most had Hardy graded slightly ahead of Porter.\nBut with no receivers picked in the first round and the Saints in dire need of coverage corners, it was a perfect match.\n"I've always been a Saints fan," said Porter, a Louisiana native. "I love that part of it. The fact that you come from the area, you know that's an advantage because you don't have to relearn everything. I'm here to help them turn the defense around."\nAs Porter celebrated with family and friends in his hometown, he was just as eager to see how his college friend back in Fort Wayne, Ind., would fare.\nIt didn't take long.\nWithin seven minutes of the Saints' call, the Bills picked Hardy.\nThe selections of Porter and Hardy marked the first time since 2002 that any Hoosiers player had been taken in the second round. The last IU player selected in the second round was receiver Antwaan Randle El.\nFor Hardy, it was the culmination of a circuitous journey.\nHe came to IU primarily to play basketball but gave that up after just one season to concentrate on football. Then he had to overcome off-the-field issues during his sophomore season with the Hoosiers, maturing into one of the team's most consistent leaders.\nNow he's starting over in Buffalo, where the Bills looking for a big, strong receiver to help open up the field for speedy Lee Evans.\n"I couldn't stop crying," Hardy told Buffalo reporters on a conference call. "I'm not a very emotional guy, but it's just something that's surreal. ... But at the same time, I'm ready to get to work tomorrow."\nThree other players from Indiana schools also were chosen Saturday.\nPurdue's Dustin Keller went to the New York Jets at No. 30, after Green Bay traded its pick. The Jets wasted no time in selecting the 6-2, 248-pound tight end who is often compared to Dallas Clark because of his speed. The one knock on Keller is that he doesn't block well, an image he hopes to change quickly.\n"There's some people I just have to prove wrong," Keller told Jets' reporters. "It's kind of a motivator more than anything else to me."\nTight end John Carlson was the first Notre Dame player selected, by the Seattle Seahawks with the seventh pick in the second round — No. 38 overall.\nThen the IU players started going quickly.\nPorter was taken by the Saints, Hardy by the Bills and Fighting Irish defensive tackle Trevor Laws went to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 47.\n"You're always anxious because you don't know where you'll end up," Porter said. "But when it happens, it's really a relief"
(04/25/08 4:25am)
IU men’s basketball coaching legend Bob Knight is returning to the Bloomington area Saturday for a speaking engagement at the Little Nashville Opry in Nashville, Ind.\nKnight, the coach who led IU to three National Championships, will speak at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday. He will speak off-script about coaching legends who have influenced him.\nBetween speeches, Knight will hold a meet and greet where he will sign basketballs and pose for photos at That Sandwich Place, 15 S. Van Buren St., in Nashville. Groups with more than four people will not be admitted and no outside items will be signed. \nTickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis for the meet and greet and prices range from $250 to $400 depending on the number of signatures and photos. For the speeches, tickets are $35 for seats in the wings and back sections of the Opry, while center-section seats are $45.\nFor ticket information, contact The Little Nashville Opry at (812) 988-2235.
(04/25/08 4:20am)
The IU men’s golf team will travel to East Lansing, Mich. this weekend, to compete in the Big Ten Championship. \nMichigan State will host the event from Friday through Sunday at the Forest Akers West Course. The Hoosiers, who are the top-seed coming into the tournament, will tee off with the Spartans Friday for the first 36 holes.\nIU is coming off a tie for third place in the Boilermaker Invitational with a 10-under par 854 (287-276-291). However, junior Jorge Campillo took the first-place individual honors by shooting 15-under par 201. Campillo also received his second Big Ten Golfer of the Week honor in three weeks on Wednesday. This is the junior’s seventh career Big Ten Golfer of the Week award, placing him two behind the all-time Hoosier leader in this category, now PGA Tour Golfer Jeff Overton (2002-05). \nIn West Lafayette last weekend, Campillo, Newsweek’s No. 25 ranked golfer, matched the course record with a career low 9-under par 63 through the first 18 holes. This was also the second-lowest 18 holes in Hoosier history. He then shot a 4-under 68 in the second round followed by a 2-under 70 in the final round.\nCampillo has won back-to-back titles, taken a second-place finish and tied for fifth twice this season. He has also totaled nine top-25 finishes this season and a 71.88 average to lead the team.\nThe Hoosiers, behind Campillo’s recent success, will look to win their first Big Ten title since 1998.
(04/25/08 4:19am)
IU’s moment of truth has arrived – again.\nFor the second time in as many years, the No. 43 IU women’s golf team will head to the Big Ten Championship in State College, Penn. right on the bubble in terms of qualifying for regionals. \nLast year IU finished fifth at the championships, earning the team an at-large bid to the Central Regionals. At those regionals, IU was dubbed a “Cinderella team” by golfweektv.com as the team finished in fourth place despite being ranked No. 52 nationally. \nThe performance earned IU its first trip to the NCAA Finals since 1998. \nIU can only earn an automatic bid to regionals this year by winning the Big Ten Championships, something that may be difficult given that rival No. 6 Purdue will also be competing. In the Indiana Invitational two weeks ago Purdue won by 42 strokes over second place Ohio State as IU fell to 8th place, 60 strokes back. \nThe Hoosiers can, however, earn an at-large bid again by performing strong at the Big Tens.\nIU coach Clint Wallman said postseason play should provide motivation for the Hoosiers. \n“I think a conference championship is an honor, and if we play well we will move on,” Wallman said. \nIU does have the luxury of having competed at Penn State’s Blue Golf Course in the Lady Northern Tournament earlier this season. In the tournament, IU finished third behind Kent State and Michigan State. \nWallman said the Hoosiers having competed on this course before could provide a boost.\n“There is a certain confidence and familiarity with this course, and we’re stronger now then we were then,” he said. \nIU will use six players at the Big Ten Championships. They are sophomores Kellye Belcher, Anita Gahir and Laura Nochta along with junior Amber Lindgren and seniors Lauren Harling and Elaine Harris. \nOf the four-round tournament, two rounds will take place today and one round each will take place Saturday and Sunday.
(04/25/08 12:20am)
IU men’s basketball coaching legend Bob Knight is returning to the Bloomington area for a speaking engagement Saturday at the Little Nashville Opry, in Nashville, Ind.\nKnight, the coach who led IU to three National Championships, will be speaking at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. He will be speaking off-script, but will tell stories about coaching legends who have influenced him. \nBetween speeches, Knight will hold a meet and greet where he will sign basketballs and pose for photos at That Sandwich Place, 15 S Van Buren St. in Nashville. Groups with more than four people will not be admitted and no outside items will be signed. \nTickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis for the meet and greet and start at $250 and max at $400 depending on the amount of signatures and photos. For the speeches, tickets are $35 for seats in the wings and back sections of the Opry, while center section seats are $45.\nFor ticket information, contact The Little Nashville Opry at 812-988-2235.
(04/24/08 3:55am)
CINCINNATI – With Walt Jocketty, the question was when.\nWhen would the Cincinnati Reds decide to switch general managers and give Jocketty the chance to turn them \ninto winners?\nThe answer: 21 games into the season.\nOff to their worst start in five years, the Reds fired Wayne Krivsky on Wednesday and replaced him with Jocketty, who built consistent winners during 10 seasons running the Oakland Athletics and 13 with the St. Louis Cardinals.\n“We’ve just come to a point where we’re not going to lose anymore,” Reds owner Bob Castellini said emphatically.\nJocketty is the fourth general manager in six years for a team that has gone through seven straight losing seasons. The Reds have been through four managers (plus an interim manager) and two owners since 2003, when they moved into Great American Ball Park. It’s their deepest slump in a half-century.\nJocketty’s job is to provide direction. He’ll likely get more of a chance than Krivsky, who walked into Castellini’s office Wednesday morning anticipating a regular baseball meeting.\nHe was shocked when told he was fired.\n“I fought for an hour to keep my job,” Krivsky said. “I did not see this coming at all. I still think it’s a gold mine. That’s what hurts so much, not to see the job through to the end and bring that winner to Cincinnati. I’ve had visions of being in the clubhouse with champagne being poured all over everybody.”\nCastellini said a 9-12 start was the main reason he turned to Jocketty, a move that was expected at some point. Krivsky, who was hired before the 2006 season, was in the final year of his contract. Jocketty was hired as a special consultant in January. The two were friends from Castellini’s days as part of the Cardinals’ ownership group.\nWhen he brought him in as a special assistant in January, Castellini insisted it was no threat to Krivsky’s job. However, he talked to Jocketty about becoming director of baseball operations after this season, giving him time to ease into a major role.\nJocketty was surprised when Castellini asked him to become general manager on Wednesday.\n“I knew this was important to Bob,” Jocketty said. “I’m charged up and ready to go. I think this organization is going in the right direction.”\nThe move marked a significant change.\nWhen Castellini hired Dusty Baker in the offseason, it was the first time the Reds had gone outside the organization for a manager since Lou Piniella came aboard for the 1990 season. The days of trying unproven managers were done.\nSame now with the general manager’s job.\nThe last three general managers – Jim Bowden, Dan O’Brien and Krivsky – were new to the job. Krivsky was the only one of the three hired by Castellini. Jocketty comes with a lot of experience at turning a struggling franchise into a winner.\n“I think this organization is a little further along than St. Louis was when I took over in ’95,” Jocketty said. “This organization has a lot better base to work from.”\nJocketty left the Cardinals last year, only one year removed from winning the World Series. Front-office friction left him out of a job even though he’d helped the Cardinals get to the playoffs seven times in 12 seasons.\nThe Reds haven’t been since 1995.\nBefore going to St. Louis, Jocketty spent 14 years with Oakland overhauling the A’s farm system and working in baseball administration. He also was an assistant general manager in Colorado.
(04/22/08 3:35am)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The Olympic flame was carried through blistering sun, torrential rain and isolated protests in Malaysia on Monday, completing another segment of its global relay that has become a magnet for demonstrations against China.\nA Japanese man, his sister and her 5-year-old son were heckled and roughed up by Chinese nationals when they unfurled a Tibetan flag before the start of the heavily guarded relay in Kuala Lumpur.\nPolice detained the three Japanese but released them without charges after about six hours. The Chinese citizens were not detained.\nAt one point in the relay, a Western man wearing a T-shirt reading “Beijing Torches Human Rights” rushed forward, shouting “Shame, shame, shame.” He was hustled away by police, but not arrested. A British woman wearing a “Free Tibet” T-shirt and a foreign Buddhist monk were also detained and later released.\nCriticism of China’s human rights record has turned the Olympic torch run ahead of the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Olympics into one of the most contentious in recent history.\nProtests dogged the relay during its stops in Ancient Olympia, Greece, Paris, London and San Francisco, with demonstrators protesting China’s crackdown on anti-government riots in Tibet.\nSecurity concerns prompted authorities in Indonesia, Australia and Japan – the torch’s upcoming stops – to change or shorten their routes.\nAbout 1,000 police guarded the Kuala Lumpur route. The only serious incident in the 10-mile run occurred before it began and involved the Japanese family, whom hundreds of Chinese nationals confronted at Independence Square, the relay’s start.\nSome Chinese hit the Japanese with inflated plastic batons that were intended for banging together in noisy celebration. Some of the Chinese shouted “Taiwan and Tibet belong to China” during the melee, but no one was hurt.\nThe Chinese – many wearing red – carried their country’s flag and waved banners that read: “The torch will spread around the world,” and “No one can split China.”
(04/22/08 3:34am)
BOSTON – Robert Cheruiyot is well-versed in the Boston Marathon course, with four victories in five trips from Hopkinton to the Back Bay.\nAbderrahime Bouramdane visited for the first time on Monday, learning what thousands before him have come to understand as they reached Heartbreak Hill, 20 miles into the race.\n“Up,” he said, “is the problem.”\nCheruiyot pulled away from Bouramdane as they entered the Newton Hills, reaching the crest of Heartbreak Hill with a 27-second lead and coasting to the sixth-fastest time in Boston Marathon history.\nDire Tune outkicked Alevtina Biktimirova after a back-and-forth last mile to win by 2 seconds in the closest finish in the history of the women’s race. Cheruiyot, of Kenya, and Tune, of Ethiopia, each earned a recently enhanced prize of $150,000 – the biggest in major marathon history.\nCheruiyot won in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 46 seconds to become the fourth man to win the race four times. After crossing the finish line, he dropped to his knees to kiss the ground before standing up and counting off his four victories with an upraised arm.\n“This was the hardest,” Cheruiyot said. “Boston is not a very easy course, it’s very difficult. (But) I enjoy running the hills.”\nAlthough he repeatedly checked his watch as he ran alone for the last miles, Cheruiyot did not challenge the course record of 2:07:14 he set two years ago.\nHis problem: No one to race with.\n“It’s very difficult when you’re running alone here in Boston,” he said. “You need company.”\nTune, who finished in 2:25:25, was the first Ethiopian woman to win since Fatuma Roba won three in a row from 1997-99. She ran side-by-side with Biktimirova into Kenmore Square, and appeared to give up an edge when she nearly missed one of the final turns.\nTune quickly composed herself and took the lead before the last turn, but Biktimirova caught her and regained the lead briefly. Tune pulled ahead for the good on Boylston Street in the last few city blocks and beat the Russian to the line.\n“I was fighting until the end,” Biktimirova said. “And in the end I just didn’t have enough speed.”\nThe previous closest women’s finish came two years ago, when Rita Jeptoo beat Jelena Prokopcuka by 10 seconds. Jeptoo finished third this year, 69 seconds behind Tune.\nCheruiyot’s third consecutive victory gave Kenya its 15th men’s title in 17 years; Kenyans also finished sixth through ninth. But Cheruiyot’s countrymen struggled more than usual overall, with just the one man in the top five – the fewest since 1992 – and one woman in the top 10.\nCheruiyot could not say whether the performance was related to the postelection violence back home, in which some of his country’s top runners have been killed and threatened. Cheruiyot missed two months of training because of the unrest before his coach moved their camp to Namibia.\n“My training has been going well despite the problems in Kenya,” he said. “When something happens, you have to forget and train.”\nBouramdane finished 1:18 back and fellow Moroccan Khalid El Boumlili came in third, another 1:31 back. Nicholas Arciniaga, of Rochester Hills, Mich., was 10th to give the Americans a top-10 finish for the fourth consecutive year.\nCheruiyot pulled away from a pack of four at the base of the Newton Hills, running the 19th mile in 4:37. He passed defending women’s champion Lidiya Grigoryeva, with the two No. 1 bibs running side-by-side, just before the 24-mile mark.\nCheruiyot remained on a record pace as he approached Kenmore Square before slowing down during the last mile. Although his course record remained intact, he still beat his winning time of 2:14:13 in last year’s monsoon-like conditions.\n“Myself, I tried to push,” he said. “Last year, I wanted the race to be faster.”\nThe race came a day after the U.S. trials featured the top American women running for a berth in the Olympics. Deena Kastor, Magdalena Lewy Boulet and Blake Russell finished in the top three to make the U.S. team that will go to Beijing.\nWith the three new Olympians serving as grand marshals, more than 25,000 runners left Hopkinton under a cloudy but calm sky and temperatures in the 50s – a major improvement from last year’s rain and wind that threatened to scuttle the race.\nAmong those in the event’s second-largest field: cyclist Lance Armstrong and astronaut Sunita Williams, who ran a simulated Boston Marathon last year while in orbit on the International Space Station.\nArmstrong won the Tour de France seven times on the strength of his work in the mountains. When he started preparing for Boston, his third marathon, some race veterans told him the hills weren’t as difficult as their reputation made them out to be.\n“They were wrong,” said Armstrong, who finished 496th in 2:50:58. “They are harder, and they do come at a difficult time in the race.”
(04/22/08 3:33am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Colts running back Kenton Keith was out of jail Monday after being arrested for refusing to leave a nightclub parking lot and yelling at officers that he was a Colts player who had done nothing wrong, police said.\nOfficers working security tried to clear a crowd from the parking lot of the Cloud 9 club after it closed at 3 a.m. Sunday. The 27-year-old Keith and several others refused to leave and were laughing, dancing and joking, police said.\nPolice eventually ordered them to put their hands on a vehicle, but Keith refused and took out a cell phone to record the incident, according to an Indianapolis police report.\nHe kept saying, “I’m a Colts player, I’m a Colts player,” the report said.\nPolice handcuffed him when he refused to put his hands behind his back and he was taken to jail, police said.\nKeith was charged with misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, resisting law enforcement, public intoxication and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, because a man he brought to the club with him was 19, police said. He was released from jail later Sunday on his own recognizance. His initial hearing is set for Wednesday.\nThere was no phone number in the Indianapolis area for Keith. The Colts said in statement that the team was aware of the arrest but had no comment about the specifics of the case.\n“Any incident involving any players with law enforcement we view very seriously, and we will act accordingly,” team president Bill Polian said in the statement.\nKeith has been with the Colts for one season after playing in the Canadian Football League. He scored four touchdowns last season, with 533 rushing yards and 77 receiving yards.
(04/21/08 8:51pm)
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(04/21/08 4:54am)
The IU women’s water polo team returned home after another tough loss to Michigan in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Western Division Championships. The top-seeded Wolverines defeated the No. 17 Hoosiers 11-3, taking first place in the tournament.\nThough IU (19-14) came up short, the victories over Slippery Rock and Mercyhurst were enough to qualify the team for the CWPA Eastern Championships next weekend in Ann Arbor, Mich.\nIn their first game, the Hoosiers were just one goal shy of tying the school record for goals in their 22-5 win over Slippery Rock in the quarterfinals on Friday.\nJunior Maggie Hannon and freshman Amy Moore both scored four goals apiece for IU, and freshman Lauren Wyckoff added a hat trick. With 20 assists in the game, the Hoosiers also set a new school record for assists in a single game.\nIn the semifinals against Mercyhurst, Hannon scored an impressive four goals along with freshman Nicole Redder, who also scored four.\nSenior Brooke Zimmerman added three more against Mercyhurst and another goal in the loss to Michigan. Zimmerman also reached 50 assists for the second time in her career, and she is one assist shy of her single-season record.\nAgainst the Wolverines, a high-powered IU offense was held to just three scores against Michigan – one of the top teams in the country. Still, the Hoosiers advanced to the College Water Polo Association Eastern Championships.\nIU will need to place first in the easternchampionships to enter the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002.
(04/20/08 8:46am)
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(04/20/08 8:41am)
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