by Kent Sterling The weather closing crawls on central Indiana television stations are filled with so many thousands of schools, businesses, and activities that are cancelled, delayed, or rescheduled that waiting to see yours is impossible. They are being added to the crawl faster than they are displayed. You want bread, milk, or road salt? [...]
by Kent Sterling Watching games and paying attention to player behaviors, it’s easy to see when the evolution of a coach’s effectiveness has hit bottom. It was clear in May that the Cubs under Lou Piniella had no chance to succeed. And in mid-November, the same was true with the Indiana Pacers Jim O’Brien. That’s [...]
by Kent Sterling Mr. Cub turns 80 today, which is almost inconceivable to me. I’m just old enough to remember Ernie Banks playing. He hit a home run in the first Cubs game to which my Dad took me on April 12, 1968, and he became my favorite Cub. I grew up in Lake Bluff, Illinois – [...]
by Kent Sterling There is some magic in the honeymoon period for a new coach. Fan and players alike believe that anything can happen, and that level of hope can allow teams to achieve beyond their talent. Sports teams and businesses alike need an occasional reboot. An 82-game NBA season can be drudgery. The players [...]
by Kent Sterling Weather forecasts for Chicago are calling for more than two feet of snow. In central Indiana all of that moisture is being forecast to fall in the form of water that will freeze on contact, and there could be two inches of it. Snow is an inconvenience. Ice is a nightmare. The [...]
I’m still annoyed by former Indiana Pacers head coach Jim O’Brien. He had a great job, but never appeared to enjoy it. I’m not saying that O’Brien should have radiated joy as he sat on the sidelines watching the Pacers play with the lack of passion he exuded, but basketball is fun – or it’s [...]
Vogel Steps in, Indiana loses a close one, and Ernie Banks turns 80. Hoosiers – You Can’t Question the Effort – IDS (Hart) Hoosiers Let One Slip Away -Indy Star (Hutchens) NFL – What’s at Stake in Labor Talks – NY Times (Battista) Pacers – This Was Likely Simon’s Call – Star (Kravitz) Pacers – [...]
by Kent Sterling It would be easy and way wrong to scapegoat Indiana guard Jeremiah Rivers because he missed two crucial free throws in the closing minute of Indiana’s game against Michigan State. He missed the front end of a one-and-one with :43 left as Indiana nursed a three-point lead. Another went awry with :19 [...]
by Kent Sterling Enough is finally enough. There comes a time in the life span of every coach’s run with a team when the players turn away from the gospel according to him, and that time passed months ago for Pacers head coach Jim O’Brien. Firing people is painful – especially when the result isn’t [...]
by Jeff Showalter Who knew that the unanswered prayer from Gordon Hayward in last years NCAA title game would lead to this? Butler is terrible. Today the Bulldogs gave away their eighth game and fourth loss in a very mediocre Horizon League with an overtime loss to Valpo. While most everyone presumed Butler would take [...]
