Sports

IU 1976 championship ring for sale on eBay

A ring commemorating IU's 1976 NCAA basketball championship is up for auction on eBay.

Titans try to slow down Colts

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Stopping Peyton Manning might be impossible, but the Titans have proved they could at least slow him down. Manning and the Colts scored only 14 points, their fewest this season, against the Titans Oct. 8, even though Indianapolis still won 14-13 for its seventh straight victory in this series. Any chance Tennessee could put the brakes on Manning twice in one season? Titans coach Jeff Fisher said Manning's too good for his defense to simply duplicate what worked in the first game. He said the Titans (4-7) are going to devise something different for Manning to pick apart Sunday when the Colts (10-1) visit.

NIT title boosts Bulldogs to highest ranking

INDIANAPOLIS -- A few weeks ago, Butler was seen as a team with little bite. A preseason poll picked the Bulldogs to finish sixth in the Horizon League. The Bulldogs' growl is a lot more noticeable after wins over Notre Dame, IU, Tennessee and Gonzaga.

Hoosiers survive comeback threat from Evansville Thursday night at home

Despite being down a key player Thursday night, the IU women's basketball team was able to hold off the University of Evansville, winning 83-80 in Assembly Hall. "Today we beat a good team," IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. "This team (Evansville) is a fantastic team that has a strong chance to win their conference and be an NCAA team. But we're soldiers too. Our kids never quit."

IU travels to Las Vegas for tournament

The Hoosier wrestling team will compete at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Invitational in Primm, Nev., starting Friday. The CKLV tournament is in its 25th year, and IU is one of 49 teams scheduled to participate in the two-day affair.

Red Sox closing in on deals as baseball bazaar continues

BOSTON -- The Red Sox aren't waiting until they get to Florida next week to start plugging the holes in their roster. "We might have something done before the winter meetings with one free agent," General Manager Theo Epstein said. Although Epstein declined to identify the player, the Red Sox are known to be pursuing former Dodgers outfielder J.D. Drew. Drew's agent, Scott Boras, said he expects to wrap up negotiations for a deal by the end of the week. Boston again is expected to be one of the more active teams when the meetings start Monday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The Red Sox are shopping outfielder Manny Ramirez, and they are also negotiating with Boras for Japanese star Daisuke Matsuzaka; Boston already bid $51,111,111 for the right to negotiate with Matsuzaka.

Memphis mayor to fight Joe Frazier

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- It won't be the "Thrilla in Manila," but Mayor Willie Herenton promises a good show when he steps into the ring with former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. The mayor, a 66-year-old former amateur boxer, and 62-year-old "Smokin' Joe" will fight a three-round exhibition bout Thursday for charity. More than 30 years removed from his legendary 1975 battle against Muhammad Ali in the Philippines, Frazier said he had no intention "to do too much damage on the mayor." "He don't play too rough, then I won't play too rough," he told WMC-TV as he arrived at the Memphis airport Tuesday night.

Unsexy Rexy

Sex appeal: the supposed trademark of Rex Grossman, as his nickname, Sexy Rexy would suggest. It's safe to say, now, that Rexy ain't so sexy anymore. Something made the Bloomington native move from the gunslinging, confident quarterback we saw in the first five games of this season to another inconsistent, Steve Spurrier-defunct quarterback. Something we see now was masked by optimism in the Windy City. Rexy embodied everything Chicago wanted in a quarterback, in part because he was everything the other guys weren't: a raw, young arm commanding a potent offensive attack with the anchoring of the league's toughest defense. Simply put, he could have been the final piece to a puzzle that's been 21 years in the making.

IU looks to return to winning ways Thursday

Coming off its first loss of the season, the IU women's basketball team will look to get back on track against the University of Evansville tonight at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers lost to the University of Miami Saturday 79-70, due in large part to turnovers and poor shooting in the first half. Shooting just under 48 percent for the season, IU only managed to make 40 percent of its shots (24 percent in the first half) and turned the ball over 26 times against the Hurricanes. IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said part of the reason for the Hoosiers' loss came from a letdown of intensity during practice.

ALMOST

DURHAM, N.C. -- If anything, the IU men's basketball team can be classified as pesky. Down 33-21 at halftime of Tuesday's 54-51 loss to Duke University at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Hoosiers struck back with a lightning-quick 12-2 run to put them back into contention. And they refused to go away.

Despite allegations, La Russa says McGwire belongs in Hall

McGwire is appearing on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, and an AP survey of 125 baseball writers who are eligible to vote -- about 20 percent of the total -- showed that only one in four who gave an opinion planned to vote for McGwire.

Unlikely lineup sparks IU's near second-half comeback

DURHAM, N.C. -- With junior forward Lance Stemler sidelined with a concussion and senior guards Rod Wilmont and Earl Calloway on the bench for most of the game, IU coach Kelvin Sampson looked to guards Armon Bassett and Errek Suhr to provide a spark for the Hoosiers Tuesday night against No. 11 Duke University.

Weismiller will not renew contract as coach

The IU women's volleyball season has come to a close and so has Katie Weismiller's IU coaching career. After 14 years of coaching Hoosier volleyball, Weismiller has decided not to seek to renew her contract as head coach of the IU women's volleyball team, the IU Department of Athletics announced Monday.

Suite deal: Soriano's filled with perks

CHICAGO -- Alfonso Soriano will be paid $18 million annually in the final five years of his $136 million, eight-year contract with the Chicago Cubs, the fifth-richest contract in baseball history.

Club records deepest postseason run ever

The IU men's club soccer team is a program-best national quarterfinalist after eventual champion Michigan ended its title hopes Nov. 17 in Tempe, Ariz.

Club offers singular, group competition

The IU figure skating club might well be the best-kept secret in IU team athletics. As a club sport, the club has enjoyed noteworthy success since its founding four years ago. The competitive team is ranked No. 1 in the Midwest and performed in the 2006 Intercollegiate National Figure Skating Competition in San Jose, Calif.

The Sampson effect

It's a subtle difference, barely noticeable except to the most dedicated eyes.

Put Up Your Dukes

The numbers don't necessarily play in IU's favor. The Hoosiers haven't played a game in nine days. Four years have passed since IU's last victory against Duke University. And the Blue Devils are 70-3 on their home court since that same year, 2002. But IU coach Kelvin Sampson and the Hoosiers say they are looking forward to the experience of playing one of the top teams in the country inside of one of the most raucous arenas in all of college basketball.

IU vs. Duke

March 21, 2002: 74-73 in Lexington, Ky. Jared Jeffries torched Duke with 24 points and 15 rebounds in IU's stunning Sweet 16 upset of the heavily-favored Blue Devils. Duke was ranked No. 1 at the time and was the defending national champion. IU went on to lose the national championship game 64-52 against the University of Maryland.

Skiles downplays rift with forward Wallace