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(02/25/08 5:34am)
With several teams ranked ahead of the No. 21 Hoosiers at the Big Ten championships this past weekend, IU coach Ray Looze knew it would be nearly impossible to repeat as Big Ten champions.\nWhile the team did not defend its title, the Hoosiers’ third-place finish featured five individual event titles, four school records and two Big Ten meet records. For Looze, the result was still a success.\n“We fought real hard the whole weekend and with how the meet started it was nice to see the ladies finish up third,” he said in a statement.\nMinnesota (660.5 points) and Michigan (609) were the only teams to top IU. The Hoosiers finished one spot higher than No. 12 Penn State.\nSophomore Kate Zubkova swept the backstroke events, setting school and Big Ten meet records in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke, while sophomore Brittney Feldman won the 1-meter and 3-meter diving events to earn the Big Ten Diver of the Year and Diver of the Championship awards. \nZubkova topped the year-old old Big Ten meet record in the 100-backstroke by more than a second, lowering last year’s mark of 52.85 to 51.68. Her teammate, sophomore Presley Bard, finished second to make it a 1-2 IU finish. \n“It was just a phenomenal race on (Zubkova’s) part, raising her game to another level (Friday) evening from where she had been at,” Looze said in a statement. “Which is nice to see that she can go and do something like that. It is a sign of what she might be capable of in the future. I really couldn’t be more proud of both of them. It is always an honor to get a 1-2 at a meet like this, and I would love to see that at NCAA’s.”\nOn Saturday, Zubkova outdistanced her competition by more than two seconds to finish at 1:53.62 in the 200-backstroke, breaking a 13-year-old Big Ten meet record.\nFeldman dominated her two diving events, a near replication of IU senior Christina Loukas’ historic performance last year. Loukas, who redshirted this season to train for the Beijing Olympics, swept the 1-meter, 3-meter and platform diving events. This year, Feldman took the 1-meter event Thursday by posting a six-dive score of 320.80 and finished 15 points ahead of second place in the 3-meter event, posting a 439.55 score.\nSophomore Donna Smailis added another school record in the 200-yard individual medley, with a 1:59.69 in a Thursday morning preliminary. She became the first Hoosier to break the two-minute barrier in that event, surpassing former IU swimmer Kristen Bradley’s 2:01.04 in 2004. Smailis finished fifth in the finals.\n“(Smailis) has been the most focused of anybody in the program,” Looze said in a statement. “You really had to sense she was going to do something. She has such a bright future ahead of her and I am very proud of Donna today.”
(02/25/08 5:33am)
Sometimes the schedule can be unforgiving. \nComing off its worst loss since December 2006, the IU women’s basketball team returns home today to face the Big Ten’s only ranked team, No. 20 Ohio State. The Hoosiers (15-12, 8-7) lost to the Buckeyes (20-6, 11-4) by 12 in Columbus on Jan. 10. \nLast Wednesday, the Hoosiers fell hard on a road trip to Wisconsin, losing to the Badgers 81-51. Junior forward Amber Jackson led the Hoosiers in scoring against the Badgers, notching 18 points in the Hoosiers’ fourth-straight road loss. \nOn the bubble, the Hoosiers are fighting to make the NCAA tournament, but losses in three of their last four games have put a major dent in those chances. \nThe Buckeyes, however, look to be gaining steam heading into March. Since a 68-67 loss to Purdue on Feb. 7, Ohio State has reeled off three straight victories and is in the thick of the regular-season Big Ten race after a 13-point win over conference leader Iowa on Feb. 21.\nOhio State coach Jim Foster’s team is led by Jantel Lavender, who averages 17.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. Additionally, Marscilla Packer and Ashlee Trebilcock each average double-figure scoring, coming in at 14.7 points and 10.7 points per game, respectively. \nLeading the IU attack so far this season is sophomore guard Jamie Braun, a player with whom Ohio State should be quite familiar – she dropped 25 points on the Buckeyes when the two teams met in January. So far this season, Braun is sixth in the Big Ten in scoring with 16.3 points per game. \nIn addition to Braun’s scoring output, junior forward Whitney Thomas, a Bloomington native, has picked up 11 double-doubles this season, more than twice the number she tallied her freshman and sophomore years combined.\nThe game against Ohio State is one of two home games left on the schedule for the Hoosiers, who will also welcome Penn State to Assembly Hall on senior night, set for Sunday.\nIU coach Felisha Legette-Jack and the Hoosiers are looking to pack Assembly Hall for Sunday’s game. The IU Athletic Department started the “Head to the Hall” campaign aimed at breaking the state attendance record for a collegiate women’s basketball game. Purdue set the previous record of 14,124 at Mackey Arena in 1999. \nAs usual, student tickets will be free. All other tickets are $1. The first 3,000 fans through the doors will also receive a free T-shirt.
(02/23/08 5:09am)
Kelvin Sampson and his interim replacement, former IU player Dan Dakich, each released statements late Friday:\nSTATEMENT FROM KELVIN SAMPSON:\n“I have made the very difficult decision to leave my position as head coach of the men’s basketball team at Indiana University. While I’m saddened that I will not have the opportunity to continue to coach these student athletes,I feel that it is in the best interest of the program for me to step aside at this time.\n“I wish my players and staff nothing but the best for the remainder of the season. They are all truly incredible people. As I have previously stated, I welcome the opportunity to go before the Committee on Infractions in June. I look forward to getting back on the basketball court in the very near future.”
(02/23/08 4:14am)
IU coach Kelvin Sampson resigned Friday amid allegations of violating NCAA rules. Sampson''s resignation comes after a week-long investigation into the allegations.\nIU Director of Media Relations Larry MacIntyre said assistant coach Dan Dakich, a former IU player who played under Bob Knight in the 1980s, will coach the team on an interim basis.\nMacIntyre added that Sampson accepted a $750,000 buyout, and agreed not to sue the University as part of the buyout.\nIU officials are expected to hold a press conference Friday night.
(02/22/08 5:36am)
At a glance, this game seems \na given.\nIU enters Saturday’s contest after two convincing home victories over conference contenders Michigan State and Purdue, riding two consecutive home victories over conference contenders No. 19 Michigan State and No. 14 Purdue, while Northwestern is still looking for its first Big Ten win (although they had several chances at stealing a win against Iowa last Tuesday).\nThe Wildcats gave IU’s defense fits for the first 30 minutes the last time around before the Hoosiers switched to a zone defense and pulled away late in the second half. Northwestern is one of the worst rebounding teams in the country, but every Wildcat on the floor can shoot, and teams are sometimes slow to adapt to their Princeton offense. To borrow a phrase from Kelvin Sampson, the Hoosiers “out-athleted” the Wildcats last time around. It may take a more comprehensive game plan this Saturday.\nThe million-dollar \n question, though, is who will be coaching on the Hoosier sideline this weekend? IU President Michael McRobbie is expected to address the findings of the University’s second internal investigation of the men’s basketball program today, and Sampson is expected to be suspended or worse. Assistant coach Dan Dakich is the most likely successor should Sampson be shown the door, but the player’s response to losing their coach midseason will play a pivotal role in how this team performs over the final month.\nDakich is a capable coach, and he’s an IU guy. Plus, D.J. White has worked too hard and has too much pride to allow this team to give up during the final days of his collegiate career. It doesn’t matter who carries the clipboard this weekend. The Hoosiers win.
(02/21/08 11:26pm)
-- Update: 2:55 p.m.\nIU Trustee Philip Eskew, Jr. said he didn't expect to hear anything until tomorrow regarding Kelvin Sampson's job situation. He also questioned the validity of several media reports that said Sampson would lose his job. \n"I don't think anybody knows anything, including me," Eskew told the Indiana Daily Student. "I don't think either one of those reports are true."
(02/21/08 6:02am)
The IU women’s basketball team (15-12, 8-7) started slowly at Wisconsin (14-11, 7-8) on Wednesday night and never recovered en route to a crushing 81-51 loss. \nThe Hoosiers began the night in fifth place in the Big Ten standings and needed to win every remaining game to make their case for an NCAA tournament bid. \nHowever, a 17-2 Wisconsin run to begin the game quickly hindered the Hoosiers’ effort to earn a big road victory. The Badgers shot 57.7 percent in the first half on their way to a 39-25 halftime lead. \nWisconsin erased any chance of an IU second-half comeback with another run to begin the second half. This time, the Badgers used a 13-4 stretch to extend their lead to 52-29 and put the game out of reach for the Hoosiers. \nJunior forward Amber Jackson led the way for IU with 18 points. Jackson was the only double-figure scorer for the Hoosiers, who have four players averaging double-figure scoring on the season. Sophomore guard Jamie Braun entered the game averaging 15.4 points per game, but Wisconsin held her to seven points on 3-11 shooting from the field. \nJolene Anderson scored 18 points to lead three Badgers in double-figures. Danielle Ward and Mariah Dunham added 14 and 11 points, respectively. \nThis game took on a far different look from last month’s meeting between the two teams, when IU cruised to an 86-62 victory at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers have struggled on the road lately and this marks their fourth straight road loss.\nWisconsin shot well, going 7-15 from 3-point range on the way to a 50.8 percent shooting clip for the game. While the Badgers were hot from the field, IU struggled. The Hoosiers shot a woeful 39.2 percent shooting for the game, including a 3-10 clip from the 3-point line. IU also struggled with foul shooting, going 8-18 from the free-throw line. \nThe Badgers also won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding the Hoosiers 41-24. Both teams struggled taking care of the ball, with IU turning the ball over 24 times to Wisconsin’s 20.\nIU will take on Ohio State, currently in second-place in the Big Ten, on Monday at Assembly Hall.
(02/19/08 5:25am)
Today’s game between IU and Purdue was supposed to feel just like old times.\nToday’s game was supposed to evoke memories of the epic hard-court confrontations between Gene Keady’s thick-legged Boilermakers and Bob Knight’s clean-cut Hoosiers – games that transcended sport to become part of Indiana lore. \nToday’s game was supposed to be the kind of game you go into knowing you will want to remember every minute detail, every random occurrence, every unforeseeable twist. And maybe it still is, but for all the wrong reasons. \nAs Kelvin Sampson’s judgment day looms like a cloaked specter outside a locker room door, today is most likely Sampson’s swan song as head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers. If Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan hasn’t already found the loose thread to unravel Sampson’s contract, he will have by Friday, when President Michael McRobbie will await Greenspan’s recommendation with pink slip at the ready. IU’s second internal investigation of the basketball program in less than a year isn’t so much a search for the truth as it is time to make sure all the legal loop holes have been plugged before the axe finally falls.\nSampson sees the writing on the wall. In IU’s most complete game of the season last weekend, a 19-point throttling of Michigan State, he wore his emotions on his thick, blue sleeve, squeezing players like tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed (and it isn’t), savoring each Branch-McCracken-court second.\n“I try to be a father to them,” Sampson said afterward of his relationship to his players. “I’m stern with them, I comfort them, I care about them and I coach them.”\nSampson’s players might be the only true supporters left in his corner. Since the NCAA’s findings went public, administrators and fans alike have gone out of their way to distance themselves from the embattled coach and voice their displeasure. Sure, the “Kel-vin Samp-son” chant unveiled itself late during the Michigan State game, but if you count that as support, you should hear the other cheers that have picked up steam at Assembly Hall recently.\nMaybe it would be easier to sympathize with Sampson if he would take some responsibility in this debacle, if he wouldn’t hide behind press statements and “no comments,” if he would resign like former assistant coach Rob Senderoff did last October. Maybe he would actually deserve to hear his name bounce off the Assembly Hall ceiling if he would apologize to those who believed that he was the man to restore Indiana basketball to its former glory. Maybe then his time at IU would deserve to be remembered for something more than scandal and self-sabotage.\nHe has conceded nothing, however. Soon, he will lose the job that supposedly meant everything to him.\nDespite Sampson’s troubles, this is still IU-Purdue, and because this is the only meeting between the two schools this season, the stakes have rarely been higher. \nThe baby Boilers have grown up in a hurry this season. Though the team lacks a dominant post presence, Purdue’s versatility on the perimeter and its physicality on defense has put it in a position it hasn’t been in since Keady stomped on the sidelines. With D.J. White’s availability in question, the Hoosiers might be the team scrambling \nto adapt.\nThese in-state clashes usually exist in a bubble, however. No matter what the circumstances or obstacles, the players seem to realize more than just another conference win is on the line. There is a pride factor, or as Keady told me last October, “It was all on the table and no silly game.”\nIf not for the spectacle of a coach awaiting his sentence, it would feel just like old times.
(02/18/08 5:38am)
After a 10-day lay-off from competition, the No. 58 IU men’s tennis team returned to the courts and served up a 6-1 victory over a talented Middle Tennessee State team. \n“It’s really hard to carry a big lead as long as we did against a team ranked ahead of us,” said IU coach Randy Bloemendaal. \nThe Hoosiers jumped out to a big lead early against the 55th-ranked Blue Raiders, sealing the doubles point with an 8-4 victory by senior Michael McCarthy and freshman Santiago Gruter over Blue Raiders’ John Peers and Alex McCann. IU has won the doubles point in all seven of its matches this season. \nThe Hoosiers continued to build their lead early in singles play. IU senior Dara McLoughlin finished off his opponent Morgan Richard in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2. \n“I thought Dara played extremely well,” Bloemendaal said. \nGruter then knocked out McCann in similar fashion, 6-1, 6-0. It was the first win for Gruter in three matches. \nWith the Hoosiers already up 3-0, McCarthy defeated Joao Paoleillo in straight sets by a score of 6-1, 6-4. McCarthy’s singles victory gave the Hoosiers their sixth victory of the season. Their only loss this season was a 4-3 decision against Big Ten opponent Iowa, but have since outscored their opponents 10-4.\n“I thought there was a great deal of improvement since the Kentucky match,” Bloemendaal said. “We really stayed focused throughout the entire match.”\nIU will begin a month-long road trip next week when it heads to Alabama to face Troy University and the University of Alabama, then heads to face Charlotte and North Carolina State. The trip finishes in Texas where the team will face Southern Methodist University and Texas A&M.\nOn the road trip, the Hoosiers will play outdoors for the first time this season.\n“We can’t go outdoors to practice here so playing outdoors will be a whole new challenge on this trip,” Bloemendaal said. “We will have to bring a new strategy because the transition for indoors to outdoors certainly changes gameplay.”
(02/18/08 5:37am)
After months of preparations, the IU women’s golf team tees off and opens the spring season today. \nFor the first time since Oct. 30 the Hoosiers will be back in regular-season action as they head to the two-day Central District Invitational in Parrish, Fla. \nIU coach Clint Wallman said the long layoff could be problematic for the Hoosiers. \n“It will be a good challenge for us coming out of the winter break,” Wallman said in \na statement. \nHowever, IU sophomore Kellye Belcher is confident rust won’t be a problem. \n“I think it will be a really good tournament,” Belcher said. “I think we’re gonna do really well down here and I don’t think it being the first tournament of the year has an effect.” \nIU will face a strong field in the invitational, as 10 teams ranked in the top 50 will compete this weekend. The top-ranked team in the tournament is No. 15 Kent State, followed by in-state rival No. 20 Notre Dame. The Hoosiers are ranked 47th. \nWallman said the teams competing are very strong. \n“The level of competition is pretty good (and) the best teams in the central region (will be playing) highlighted by Notre Dame, Michigan State, Texas A&M and Kent State. It is pretty top-heavy,” Wallman said in a statement. \nDuring the fall season the Hoosiers played well, finishing in the top 3 four times in five tournaments. \nIU was led individually during the fall season by sophomore Laura Nochta who placed in the top 10 three times in five tournaments and carded the highest individual finish of any IU player when she placed second at the Wolverine Invitational Sept. 30. Nochta’s performance during the fall season garnered her IU’s top individual national ranking of 155th. \nNochta will lead the Hoosiers in the Central District Invitational along with Belcher, sophomore Anita Gahir and seniors Lauren Harling and Elaine Harris. \nBelcher said she thinks the team has a chance of coming out on top, but even if they don’t the Hoosiers will have learned something in the process. \n“We have a chance to win in any tournament but I think we’re going to go down there and work on what we have worked on during the offseason and see how it goes,” Belcher said.
(02/15/08 5:10am)
With a wintry mix still covering a majority of the IU Golf Course, the No. 19 Hoosiers will leave Bloomington and travel to Point Vedra, Fla., to compete in their first tournament of the spring season. \nAfter a 16-week break from competition, the Hoosiers will begin their spring season at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational, which runs Sunday through Tuesday. \nIU is ranked 19th in the country heading into this weekend, according to Golfweek’s latest polls, which leaves them in second place in the Big Ten behind No. 15 Michigan State. Prior to the Florida tournament, the Hoosiers had an impressive fall season when they placed no worse than sixth in all six of their tournaments.\nIn the heart of their fall schedule, IU took third place in three straight tournaments. In the last tourney in which the Hoosiers participated, the UNCG Bridgestone Collegiate, IU placed sixth overall. \nJuniors Seth Brandon and Jorge Campillo are ranked No. 74 and No. 42 in the nation, respectively, and lead the Hoosiers’ attack, according to Golfweek.\nIn six tournaments this fall, Campillo’s stroke average was 72.00, while Brandon averaged 72.56 strokes per 18 holes. Campillo’s best effort of the fall season came Oct. 1 when he finished runner-up in the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational in Chicago. Brandon’s best outing in the fall came in the first tournament of the season when he tied for fifth, shooting 214 (71-73-70). With the two golfers leading the Hoosiers, IU looks to pick up where they left off and compete on the same level they competed at in the fall.\nThe John Hayt Collegiate Invitational will take place at the Sawgrass Country Club, which has held the tournament every year since 2001. University of North Florida will host the tournament this year.
(02/15/08 5:09am)
After dropping five of their first six Big Ten matches, the road doesn’t get any easier for the No. 21 Hoosiers.\nLast Friday, IU (12-7, 1-5) lost an 18-16 heartbreaker to rival Purdue in a match the team controlled until the last pairing, when an inopportune third-period pin on sophomore Nate Everhart gave the Boilermakers the victory. IU continued to struggle in Big Ten play later in the weekend when the Hoosiers were “krushed” by Illinois 23-9.\nThis weekend, IU coach Duane Goldman leads the Hoosiers to the home of his alma mater on Friday to face No.1 Iowa (18-1, 5-0). During his wrestling days in Iowa City, Goldman amassed a 132-10 record over four years as a Hawkeye and was a four-time All-American. Highlighting his career as a Hawkeye, Goldman also won a national championship. \nWrestling for Iowa is a string of No. 1 ranked wrestlers, including Brent Metcalf (23-1) in the 149-pound weight class and Mark Perry (13-2) in the 165-pound class.\nThe most important match for the Hoosiers will be in the 125-pound weight class, where IU’s No. 2 Angel Escobedo faces his biggest challenge of the season when he battles Iowa’s No. 3 Charlie Falck (23-2) then Northwestern’s No. 5 Brandon Precin (27-4). Escobedo has been flawless thus far, winning all of his 24 matches. But the stiff competition this weekend presents a tough test for the sophomore.\nOn Sunday, IU will head to Evanston to take on the No. 12 Wildcats. The list of No. 1 opponents doesn’t stop in Iowa, but carries over to the Chicago-area when IU heavyweights will go against No. 1 Dustin Fox (17-0). The Hoosiers will either send out Everhart (1-6) or John Sandberg (2-3) in an attempt to dethrone Fox.
(02/15/08 5:05am)
For all the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the IU basketball program these days, the Hoosiers looked largely unfazed against Wisconsin. If not for a lucky banked 3-pointer by the Badger’s Brian Butch, IU would most likely have won the game and kept pace for the conference lead. Putting NCAA violations aside, this team still has a lot to play for.\nOn Wednesday night, the Hoosiers proved to be more like the eye of the hurricane than the hurricane itself. All that could change, however, \nif Kelvin Sampson is fired \nor resigns midseason, which \nis likely to happen sooner \nthan later.\nWhen asked if the outside chatter affected the team after the loss, D.J. White vehemently shook his head and said, “Nothing outside of us hurt our team. We were a family tonight.”\nThat family will be severely strained, however, should it lose its father figure. It’s difficult to speculate what kind of an impact a midseason coaching change would have on the team, but one has to think the psychological burden from the public’s response to the NCAA’s investigation is already having an effect on \nthe players in some way, shape or form.\nWhen IU meets Michigan State Saturday night, it will be a matchup of the preseason darlings of the Big Ten. The Spartans were selected as the top preseason team in the conference with the Hoosiers following in second. However, Michigan State has hit some nasty bumps throughout \nthe first eleven games of its conference schedule. They have three conference losses, including losses to Penn State and Iowa, a game where they only scored 36 points. Another loss would make their chances of gaining at least a share of the conference championship perilously thin.\nThe Hoosiers are in a similar position. IU needs to win this game to keep pace with Wisconsin and set up a showdown with Purdue next Tuesday. A home loss to Michigan State would severely increase IU’s degree of difficulty in earning its first share of the Big Ten championship since 2002.\nLike all of Tom Izzo’s teams, Michigan State is built on fundamental basketball and rebounding. The rebounding battle will be critical for both teams. White still leads the league in rebounds at 10.6 per game, but the Spartans’ Goran Suton is second in the category.\nEric Gordon and Drew Neitzel will square off in one of the most anticipated head-to-head offensive duels of the conference season. But forward Raymar Morgan is the real offensive threat for Michigan State, averaging 15.6 points \nper game.\nIU has improved its efficiency over the last two weeks. The Hoosiers turned the ball over a season-low five times against Wisconsin and only six times against Ohio State, an encouraging trend heading into the homestretch of the season.\nThe key to this game and every game the rest of the season will be the players’ response to the backlash from the coaching staff’s violations. Can they continue to improve and develop as a team with an increasing number of distractions? Will they grow closer \nor fall apart should their coach be dismissed? \nIt’s a tall order for a group of young men that have become the victims of their coaches’ mistakes, but they don’t have much of a choice.
(02/15/08 4:07am)
The NBA – where amazing happens. \nWhen I first saw those commercials, I thought they were a load of crap. How amazing could the NBA really be when it had cheating officials, multiple player arrests and unbalanced conferences? \nOk, so that was actually my second thought. My first thought is how fun it would be to make a parody of one of those commercials. Picture the music rolling and then a picture of Ron Artest in the stands and the ad says “where brawls happen.” Next is a picture of Allen Iverson sitting at the press table and with the picture saying “where ‘practice?’ happens.” The final picture can be of Wilt Chamberlain and a girl saying “where getting lucky happens.” Then we will roll to the NBA logo with the normal “where amazing happens.”\nBut this year, amazing has happened. As we head into the All-Star break this weekend, we have already witnessed two blockbuster trades, great playoff races in both conferences and two unbalanced conferences that have turned comical.\nSo let’s see why this first half of the season has been one of the best in years.\nTo start, we have seen Shaq go West and Pau Gasol go to L.A. \nGasol is a great addition and makes the Lakers a huge threat in the Western Conference. He fits the triangle offense and is a great compliment to Kobe and Lamar Odom. \nAnd then there is Shaq. As he said, “the sun will rise in Phoenix.” I have no doubt Shaq will make Phoenix better. Many critics think he is out of his prime and won’t be able to keep up with the Suns’ run and gun offense. But I think the Diesel has plenty left in the tank, and he will make the Suns even more of a contender than before. Shaq plays when he wants to, but when he gets angry at critics, he is known for winning championships.\nPlus, can’t you imagine the media heyday that will happen if a Kobe-Shaq Western Conference Finals showdown happens? The matchup will be an amazing best-of-seven games.\nBut before we get to the playoffs, we have the great races going already. In the East, the 6th, 7th and 8th seeds are completely up for grabs, and there are eight teams within six-and-a-half games of getting as high as the sixth seed. In the West, the difference between the 1st and 9th seeds is five games. Five games! That is unheard of. \nIf the races are this tight before the break, I can only imagine what’s going to happen after. \nBut what might sum up the amazing is the difference in the conferences. The “Leastern” conference has been well below the West for awhile, but may have hit a new low. The 9th seed in the West is 11 games over .500. In the East, the 8th seed is sitting six games under .500. The balance is severely tilted towards the Pacific, but hopefully it will even out over time.\nOf course, there is still a lot of basketball to be played and even more time for more trades. So all we can do is sit tight and watch it all unfold. \nPlus, the more you watch, the more “where amazing happens” commercials you get to see.
(02/14/08 6:30am)
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson and his staff violated telephone recruiting restrictions imposed because of his previous violations at Oklahoma, then lied about it to the school and NCAA investigators, according to an NCAA report released Wednesday.\nThe report sent to the university Friday accuses Sampson of five major violations, including the allegation of providing "false or misleading information" to university officials and NCAA enforcement staff. The school contended in its initial report that all violations were secondary infractions.\nBut the NCAA accused Sampson of failing "to deport himself ... with the generally recognized high standard of honesty" and failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the mens basketball program, categorized as major infractions.\nAthletic director Rick Greenspan promised the university would cooperate with all NCAA requests.\n"We are extremely disappointed in these new allegations regarding coach Sampson," Greenspan said in a statement. "To say the least, we view these allegations with grave concern."\nIndiana has until May 8 to provide a written response to the report. The report says Indiana officials will be required to appear June 14 in Seattle at a hearing before the Division I infractions committee.\nMajor violations of NCAA rules can carry significant punishments, including postseason bans.\nIndiana has not had a major NCAA violation in any sport since 1960.\nThe report comes more than three months after the university announced an internal investigation found Sampson made more than 100 impermissible phone calls while still on NCAA probation for similar infractions at Oklahoma. Indiana has imposed sanctions on Sampson — forfeiting a $500,000 pay raise and one scholarship next season.\nThe NCAA, which could impose additional sanctions, reaffirmed some of Indiana's own findings, that Sampson had engaged in a series of three-way calls that are permissible under NCAA rules but prohibited as part of the punishment against Sampson in May 2006.\nBut the report also says Sampson was present when his staff called recruits, had assistant coach Rob Senderoff call a prospect and hand him the phone and knowingly participated in three-way calls with at least three recruits. The report said Senderoff, who has since resigned from the staff, initiated those calls. All were violations of NCAA restrictions.\nThe university also punished Senderoff by forfeiting his bonuses or salary increases for one year.\nThe NCAA also said Sampson failed to monitor his staff's phone call documentation.\nSenderoff also was accused of lying to the university's enforcement staff and NCAA investigators and failing to adhere to the NCAA's expected ethical standards. He is accused of enabling the three-way calls, allowing Sampson to speak with recruits on a speaker phone and lying when he signed monthly statements denying use of his home phone for recruiting purposes.\nThe NCAA found Senderoff made at least one recruiting call from his home phone during three months in 2006 and from February through July 2007.\n"The institution reported that Senderoff placed at least 30 calls from his home phone that were violations of the restrictions imposed on the men's basketball staff by the committee on infractions," the report said.\nSampson first got in trouble with the NCAA for making 577 impermissible calls from 2000 to 2004 and was sanctioned by the NCAA in May 2006, less than two months after taking the Indiana job. Sampson was banned from calling recruits and making off-campus visits for one year.\nSampson said in October he was unaware he had participated in three-way conversations on nine of the 10 calls that were found.\nAssistant coach Jeff Meyer was accused of having illegal contact with recruit Derek Elston during Indiana's basketball camp last summer and giving Elston a backpack and T-shirt, considered improper benefits under NCAA rules.\nMeyer issued an apology through a lawyer.\n"In my 29 years as a college coach, I have tried to maintain a reputation for integrity, fairness and good sportsmanship, values shared by Indiana University and the NCAA," Meyer said in a statement released by attorney Stu Brown. "I regret that I may have made mistakes that are causing my and IU's conduct to be examined by the NCAA. I will continue to cooperate with both the university and the NCAA, and I will not comment on this process again before it is completed."
(02/14/08 5:00am)
Noah Baumbach's newest film isn't a great dysfunctional-family drama like his first major success "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," which he co-wrote with Wes Anderson, nor did it quite meet the expectations fostered by his last movie "The Squid and the Whale," as a result of a few missteps. Still, interesting characters go a long way toward mending this film's flaws.\nThe movie starts with a rickety train ride that introduces Margot (Nicole Kidman) and her quirky son Claude (Zane Pais). Both are traveling through rural New York to visit Margot's sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who is days away from a second marriage to a guitar-strumming lay-about named Malcolm (Jack Black). Margot and Pauline's relationship is strained, and the family tension waxes and wanes in the days before the ceremony.\n"Margot" doesn't focus on extraneous details, which only serve to reflect and highlight characters' personal turmoil. Scenes are spliced in without transition, just as Margot manically switches trains of thought and Pauline makes irrational decisions about her love life. Even Claude has inherited a bit of a capricious personality, leading his mother to speculate that he is autistic. \nUnlike the female leads, Malcolm serves no cinematic purpose other than that of a schmuck, literally and figuratively, for the two women to rub off on. Also, as he does in most movies, Jack Black strips to his skivvies and prances around with his beer gut preceding him by at least three frames -- an almost-good-enough reason to stay away from "Margot."\nAnd maybe I'm being puritanical, but this movie included much pointless nudity and sex, not just Black's. It's hard to believe a woman would take the time to put on pants and a shirt but then walk around without buttoning the shirt. Having Kidman simulate masturbation on-screen also seems like a cheap way to illustrate her character's mental loneliness. \nMuch is awry in this movie, but the interactions between Margot, Pauline and Claude -- at times darkly humorous, infuriating and never dull -- push "Margot" toward watchable. The Ryder's cheap ticket prices help, too.
(02/14/08 5:00am)
With her second film since the critically acclaimed "Slums of Beverly Hills," writer-director Tamara Jenkins is back to the big screen with "The Savages," her tale of two faltering siblings given the responsibility of caring for their elderly, abusive father. \nJon and Wendy Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney) are brother and sister living in separate parts of New York state. Jon is an author of books on theatrical drama; Wendy is a self-proclaimed aspiring playwright. They are intelligent, articulate and knowledgeable about drama, but these attributes do them no good when they get a call from their father's caretaker telling them that their father Lenny Savage (Philip Bosco) has been writing on the walls with his own feces. \nAfter some reluctance, the pair decides to move their father to a "rehabilitation center" for elderly people in Buffalo, N.Y., where they must take care of a parent who never took care of them. These unhappy relationships during their childhood affect the ones they are in now: Jon refuses to marry a Polish woman whose visa has expired, even though he cares for her, and Wendy is having a joyless affair with a somewhat older married man. \nDirector Tamara Jenkins chooses not to sentimentalize these situations. Quite the opposite, this movie could have easily fallen into the now common "indie" movie genre that has become so popular recently, a genre that seems most concerned with obscure soundtracks and "finding oneself." It's hard to determine what Jenkins' characters "find" by the end of the film; there are no easy revelations or epiphanies. \nCharacters speak in realistic sentences, not speeches. They ask questions but don't make confessions. Silence between characters is used to tell us more about them, not less. What Jenkins mainly accomplishes through these devices is realism, not some hyperactive fantasy.\nThe result is a highly enjoyable movie that asks questions about mortality and family that remain unanswered. Regardless of whether you have ever cared for elderly relatives or not, this movie will make you reflect on past days, hope for better ones and help give you the wisdom to notice the difference between the two.
(02/14/08 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Kate Blanchett returns for a second round as England's favorite queen Elizabeth I. In "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," Blanchett's character has to struggle with the burden of absolute power over her kingdom, her lack of power over her own life and an oncoming Spanish invasion.With the first film showing Elizabeth's rise to power, this film shows the more notable later years of the queen's rule, centering on the threat of the oncoming Spanish Armada that is attempting to dethrone the Protestant ruler. While trying to keep her country safe from a superior military force, she must also avoid assassination attempts, tasks made easier with the help of the loyal Sir Walsingham, who is once again played brilliantly by Geoffrey Rush. In the midst of all this, we are introduced to notorious sailor and explorer Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) who becomes something of a love interest for the aging queen.A very well-done film, it offers a new perspective on this character, showing her in a world now more concretely under her control. At the same time, we see her agonizing over her relationship with Raleigh, a relationship she is unable to pursue due to her lofty position as queen and his lowly office of pirate. Although this theme was thoroughly covered in the last movie, Clive Owen's smirk brings a refreshing new twist to it, keeping the piece afloat where otherwise this movie would have sunk.This disc is served with the standard fare of special features, with your typical director's commentary and deleted scenes, as well as some more interesting making-of documentaries on the settings of the film. These features give a great insight into the artistic ideas of the director and his crew, illustrating the goals they had for this movie -- goals that they achieved very well.An excellent movie, providing a solid two hours of entertainment, education and Clive Owen in outrageously puffy pants. A must-see for fans of the first film.
(02/13/08 5:01am)
And then there was one.\nWith the sudden departure of A.J. Ratliff, only one player remains from Mike Davis’ promising 2004 recruiting class. This was the class that was supposed to vindicate Davis and bring in plenty of hardware, too. As so often happens in sports and in life, however, things just didn’t work out the way they were planned. \nJosh Smith went pro before ever enrolling; James Hardy fell for football; Robert Vaden defected with Davis; Lucas Steijn ... well, who really knows what happened to Steijn. Now, Ratliff has succumbed to “personal issues.” Like a creature out of Darwin’s evolutionary theory, only the Leviathan formerly known as D.J. White remains on today’s Hoosier squad.\nAnd it’s too bad. It shouldn’t have been this way. D.J. shouldn’t be the last man standing, although he’s proven he can handle the load. This wasn’t supposed to play out like a hoops version of “Survivor,” but that’s exactly how it did.\nPerhaps Ratliff is the most tragic casualty of IU’s 2004 class. He came to IU as the reigning Indiana Mr. Basketball, having beat out the likes of A.J. Graves and Hardy for the honor. Ratliff had already overcome a childhood without a father and, with the aid of family friends, developed the kind of work ethic that makes coaches count their lucky stars at night.\nHe was supposed to be the glue guy, the guy that could shut down the best team’s player on defense and make them pay for forgetting about him on offense. He had the Dumbo ears and the Laffy Taffy arms, but what really threw opponents off was that cock-sure smile like he knew he was going to save the day and get the girl. \nHe had his flashes of brilliance: a 21-point explosion in the second half against Kentucky his sophomore year; a 20-point performance off the bench last year during the toppling of No. 2 Wisconsin. Even during this season of anarchy and academic ineligibility, Ratliff came up with a crucial block and strip in the closing seconds of IU’s home win over Illinois. More often than not, however, people left Assembly Hall muttering, “What’s up with A.J.?”\nIt’s a fair question. What happened to the guy who wore his basketball celebrity like a loose pair of jeans? Where did he go wrong?\nThere are rumors, of course. There have always been rumors with A.J. \nThey’ve shadowed his basketball career like vultures over a sickly animal. Even this past semester when Ratliff was supposed to be dusting off Merriam-Webster, he couldn’t quiet the whispers. But in the end, it’s not the rumors that got to A.J. – it’s the kernels of truth within the rumors that ultimately led to his departure. \nSo it comes to this: A mutual agreement between coach and player “to focus on himself and to work through his personal issues.” Doesn’t sound like the end of the career, at least if you ignore the echo of the locker room door slamming shut.\nThe Hoosiers will move on without Ratliff – they embark on the toughest three-game stretch of the season today – and Ratliff will move on without the Hoosiers. Here’s hoping he clears his head, now that the stage isn’t so big, now that the lights have dimmed. Here’s hoping he picks up the pieces. Here’s hoping the story of this college basketball casualty doesn’t end in a mutual agreement.
(02/11/08 5:12am)
Put simply, Sunday was not a good day for the IU women’s basketball team. Poor shooting combined with the inability to stop Illinois sophomore forward Jenna Smith spelled doom for the Hoosiers, as the Illini roundly defeated IU in Champaign, 73-62. \nThe Illini were up by eight at the half and they quickly stretched that lead to \ndouble digits. \nA rare 3-pointer from junior forward Whitney Thomas was part of a late IU run that managed to cut the deficit to 11, but it was not enough as the Hoosiers dropped to 14-10 overall, and 7-5 in the Big Ten. \nThomas led the Hoosiers in the loss with 19 points and seven rebounds, and junior guard/forward Kim Roberson added 15 points and seven boards of her own. \nAs a team, IU had four players in double figures, but saw virtually no offensive production from the rest of the team. \nThe Hoosiers also struggled to take advantage of second chance opportunities. They pulled down 18 offensive rebounds, but managed just 18 points off the boards. \nBut in the end, it was Smith – the No. 2 scorer in the Big Ten coming into Sunday’s action – and IU’s poor shooting that made the difference. The Illini forward shot 10-of-16 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line en route to 30 points. Preseason All-Big Ten guard Lori Bjork added 19 for the Illini, going a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc. \nOn the other end, the Hoosiers shot just 33.3 percent from the floor, and made just 2-of-14 attempts from beyond the arc. IU also had only three assists on the afternoon. \nPrior to this weekend’s action, the Hoosiers had been getting attention from NCAA Tournament pundits. ESPN’s Charlie Crème slotted the Hoosiers as a No. 10 seed in the New Orleans bracket in his latest projections. The Hoosiers’ record in the projection did not take into account either the loss at Illinois or IU’s win at home against Northwestern last Thursday. \nNext up for the Hoosiers will be a Valentine’s Day matchup with Michigan State, a traditional conference front-runner struggling this season. The Spartans are 13-11 overall and 5-7 in conference play, with one of those losses coming at the hands of the Hoosiers in East Lansing. \nAnchoring the Michigan State attack is sophomore center Alyssa DeHaan, the Big Ten’s tallest player at 6-foot-9. DeHaan averages 14.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. \nThe game against Michigan State marks the beginning of a stretch run that will see the Hoosiers play four of their last six games at home.
