Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Five questions that must be answered by Colts GM Chris Ballard

Colts GM Chris Ballard needs to answer questions about his own performance and how to improve in 2020.

With two games remaining, the 2019 season is over for the Indianapolis Colts, so we turn our attention to 2020.

There are many questions to be answered following the Colts collapse after starting the season 5-2 despite the retirement of Andrew Luck.  As fun as it was to watch last year’s team rally from 1-5 to earn a playoff spot, it is exactly that miserable to watch this group unravel.

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All we have left are questions about the future general manager Chris Ballard will answer beginning today, so let’s ask five of them:

Is Jacoby Brissett the Colts franchise quarterback?

During last night’s Monday Night Football broadcast, analyst Booger McFarland said that Brissett will be the quarterback of the future.  Then Brissett completed only 18 of 34 passes for 165 yards and no touchdowns.  Brissett ranks between 16th and 24th in meaningful passing statistics other than interceptions, and that’s not nearly good enough to win a championship.  He doesn’t give the ball away, but he doesn’t make many plays either.  Colts GM Chris Ballard would like it if Brissett is their quarterback of the future, but bad throws and reads make that seem like a long shot.

Quarterbacks tend to take a little time to develop, and the Colts would like to win sooner rather than later.  They might play it safe by drafting a weapon for Brissett, who has nothing dynamic at his disposal with injuries to wide receivers Devin Funchess, Chester Rogers, Parris Campbell and T.Y. Hilton, as well as tight end Eric Ebron.  Ballard might also draft Brissett’s replacement.  Is it fair for Brissett to be judged without a full compliment of receivers?  That’s why they pay Ballard the big bucks.

Should defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus be replaced?

The immediate answer for anyone who watched last night’s debacle is a resounding yes.  Allowing Drew Brees to operate against a shell zone without pressure seemed foolish, and Brees completing all but one of his 30 attempts for a 96.7% completion rate revealed it to be as ill-conceived in practice as in principle.

The first rule of coaching is to out scheme the fans.  Taunting Brees with a soft zone while never sacking him was silly to everyone who invested time watching the game.

There are many very bright defensive coordinators who have been torched by Drew Brees, but last night seemed to be schematic malpractice.

Sadly, it’s not as though this was the defense’s only failure.  Last week, the Colts defense gave up 38 points to the Tampa Bay Bucs despite forcing four turnovers.  I’ve never seen that.

The Colts defense is ranked in the middle of NFL teams in all defensive categories despite relative health.

Why do the Colts always seemed to rack up an absurd number of injuries?

Great question.  I don’t have an answer.  Ballard needs to find the answer – immediately.  No NFL team is good enough to win with the spate of injuries suffered annually by the Colts.  I know the Colts have done exhaustive research in this area, but they need to find the answer.

Is Chad Kelly worth a spin in these final two games?

Fans always love the backup who looks great during the preseason against players destined to be cut.  Kelly is the latest.  Fans are also well known for looking at a 6-8 team and wondering what would be lost by giving some guy they have never seen screw up a shot.  GMs and coaches would tell you there is plenty to lose.

What the hell is going on with special teams?

Opponents have missed a total of two field goal attempts and zero extra points while the Colts have missed 15.  There have been blocked kicks, missed blocks, ridiculous penalties and more.  Does the responsibility land with personnel or coordinator Bubba Ventrone?  Missed kicks were most due to Adam Vinatieri’s balky left knee, but something is off-kilter everywhere else.  Special teams are rarely an area that wins games, but they can sure lose them – and they have for the 2019 Colts.

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Ballard faces all of these questions while knowing answers will reveal errors of his own judgment.  That’s when leadership gets tough and big boy pants are required.  Anyone can clean up a predecessor’s mess, but it’s more difficult to assess your own shortcomings, adjust and correct processes you developed.

Whether Ballard is the right GM for the Colts was never going to be answered by how he improved the systems and roster implemented by former GM Ryan Grigson.  I could have done that.  Whether he gets the Colts to a Super Bowl will depend entirely upon how much better he is at his job in 2020 than he was in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

And the five questions above only scratch the surface of the heavy lifting Ballard needs to do.

Fred Glass retiring as Indiana University director of athletics; his legacy will be his athletes #iubb

Fred Glass will retire very comfortbale with his legacy – and for good reason.

There is a lot that goes into being an athletic director of a Big 10 school, and Fred Glass will continue to do it all at the highest level until he retires at the end of the academic year.

Those who point to the mediocrity of the basketball program relative to expectations as a Glass failure miss the point of what an athletic director does and how well Glass does it.

Glass summed up his decade as AD pretty well in IU’s release, “I feel like we’ve rebuilt IU Athletics both culturally and physically.  We have followed the rules.  We are graduating our students at a record rate.  Competitively, most of our programs are doing historically well, and the futures are bright for all of our sports. We are an athletic department nationally known for the holistic care and development of our students. We have had unprecedented success with fundraising and facility development.”

Nearly 1,000 student-athletes and their families trust that Glass will do everything necessary to keep them safe at IU while moving steadily toward their athletic potential and a degree.  That is what matters most, and Glass has excelled at maintaining it as his highest priority.

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The graduation rate for athletes has climbed from 77% when he took over to 91%.  That may not sound like a lot to you, but that 14% represents one in every seven student-athletes – or roughly 28 extra graduates per year.

Facilities have taken a massive jump forward under Glass’s watch.  Virtually every sports has opened a new or renovated stadium, arena, or course.

When Glass felt football players’ safety was at risk, he fired coach Kevin Wilson at the end of a bowl eligible regular season.  He hired Tom Allen as the replacement.  At the time, I was critical of Glass rushing through the process to install Allen, but this season proved Glass’s assessment of Allen as the right guy for the job to be accurate.  Indiana Football has won eight games for the first time since 1993, and could win a ninth game for the first time in more than a half century.

The Hoosiers trip to the Gator Bowl will mark its first trip to Florida for a bowl – ever.

Glass earned my respect and affinity through his devotion to building a student oriented athletic department.  There are so many responsibilities required by alums, donors, trustees, and the president that it’s easy to forget that university exists first for the students.  Glass never lost that focus and always treated students the most meaningful measure of his work and  legacy.

Whoever takes the reins of the department will have a much easier path too success than Glass did when he succeeded Rick Greenspan, who was overmatched by the responsibilities of the position.  The transition from Glass will be comparatively seamless.

Candidates for the gig include former IU basketball player Chris Reynolds (currently the AD at Bradley), former IU football player Pat Kraft (currently the AD at Temple, and Scott Dolson (IU’s Deputy Director of Athletics for the entire Glass era).

I would expect current coaches to favor Dolson, as he is least likely to rock the boat by replacing them.  Former basketball players will side with Reynolds because he is one of theirs.  Former football players will want Kraft for the same reason.

Whoever gets the job will have a big golf cart to fill.

Silly as this sounds, if Colts win tonight they have a real shot at playoffs

When Frank Reich finished last season 9-1 to make the playoffs, he was a genius. This season, not quite so smart as the Colts are a loss from hope evaporating for a season defined by what could have been.

With a Monday Night Football win tonight at New Orleans, the Indianapolis Colts will put themselves in a position where they could still wriggle their way into the playoffs.

This has been a disappointing season for the Colts because of their 5-2 start.  Given the remaining schedule after week seven, it seemed very likely they would win a mediocre AFC South despite the retirement of franchise quarterback Andrew Luck 15 days prior to the season opener.

Not only do the Colts need to win tonight, they need to win their final two – at home against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday and on the road in the season finale against Jacksonville.  All roads to the playoffs include the Colts winning out.  They also need help from the Texans, Titans and Steelers.

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Everything that the Colts needed to happen yesterday to enhance their chances happened.  The Steelers, Raiders, and Browns lost.  The Texans beat the Titans, which was fine but unnecessary.

Those results enhance the chances of the Colts earning the second wild card, but the Colts are not out of the running to win the division.  If the Texans lose out, and the Titans lose to the Saints Sunday and beat the Texans in week 17, the Colts win the AFC South via tiebreaker by winning their last three games.

For the wild card, things get complicated.  Pittsburgh needs to lose out, but that is certainly possible as they finish the season with road tests against the Jets and Ravens.  If Tennessee loses out also, the Colts will be the sixth seed.  If Pittsburgh loses out and the Titans go 1-2 while the Colts win out, all finish 9-7, the three-way tiebreaker goes into effect and the Colts lose out.

The odds for the Colts to qualify are remote – ESPN calculates them as 2%.  But a chance is still a chance, and if that makes tonight’s game against the Saints a little more interesting, why not indulge in a little harmless hope?

To win tonight, the Colts defense needs to find a way to control Drew Brees in a way they failed with Jameis Winston last Sunday in Tampa.  Winston threw three picks, but also four touchdowns and 456 passing yards.  The Colts will be without Kenny Moore II, their best corner, as they try to stop Michael Thomas, the NFL’s most efficient receiver.

The Saints defense will miss DE Marcus Davenport and DT Sheldon Rankins, both of whom were injured in last Sunday’s win over the 49ers.  The Colts offense will try to control the ball and keep Brees on the sidelines.  Keeping the game close and trying to it in the fourth is is the plan.

That concept looks great on paper until you look at the last three Colts games – all losses.  The Colts either led or were tied during the fourth quarter, but were outscored 31-0 over those three final stanzas.

Managing a game is great until a team needs to make a winning play, and the Colts have failed in that effort often during the brief Jacoby Brissett era.  In 2017, Brissett helped the Colts take a lead heading into the fourth quarter of five games the Colts ultimately lost.  They were outscored that season 130-46.

This season, blowing games late hasn’t been all Brissett’s fault.  Fifteen missed kicks have directly contributed to four of the Colts losses.  Those wayward boots are the difference between 6-7 and 10-3 – a record that would steer the conversation to home field advantage instead of how to overcome 50-1 odds to make the playoffs.  For context, opponents have missed a total of two kicks against the Colts.  That’s a difference of 27 lost points via field goal and extra point attempts.

The Colts season comes down to tonight.  If they beat the Saints, another week of hope is earned.

And so it will continue until they lose, or Pittsburgh and Houston wins.

Indiana needs to learn from win over UConn, not celebrate it

Joey Brunk played great for 1:48 during the second half, but needs to improve if IU is going to reach its potential.

Indiana needs to get better, and use last night’s win against UConn as a springboard to better basketball, or this season could spin in the same wrong direction as the last three.

The Hoosiers beat the Huskies 57-54 last night in one of the least aesthetically appealing basketball games in this young season.  The Hoosiers found a way to win despite hitting only 36.8% of their shots, not a having a single double-digit scorer, and scoring only four points during the first 11:54 of the second half.

UConn made more mistakes and bad basketball decisions than IU, and that provided the difference.  In some games, it’s a shame that either team loses.  In others, a case can be made that both teams should have lost.  Indiana won last night despite playing horrific stretches of basketball only because UConn was worse longer.

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Here are three issues that caused Indiana problems last night and will cost them wins if they are not corrected:

Bad angles entering the post – There were at least four vertical entry passes made by Hoosiers during last night’s game that resulted in turnovers.  Grade school children in Indiana are taught about correct angles for entering the post.  Vertical passes (parallel to the sideline) are easily picked off by defenders.

Defending out of bounds underneath sets – Indiana has routine difficulty defending out of bounds plays underneath the opponent’s basket.  Variations of screen the screener allow easy baskets against Indiana, and it drives fans crazy.  I’m sure it drives coach Archie Miller nuts too.  IU got it right once late in the game, but can’t continue to hand opponents layups if they are going to beat well-coached Big 10 teams.

Closing out on shooters – This is a skill Indiana does not perform with consistent energy.  As IU helps to close down drivers, opponents kick the ball to shooters camping outside the three-point arc.  Without quick and controlled closing, offensive opportunities abound.

The bad news is that Indiana players seem incapable of correcting these fundamental issues.  It’s been many years since IU could be counted on to deliver consistent effort and execution. The good news is that they are 9-1 despite frequent lapses.  It helped that Miller built the early portion of the schedule to gift IU seven wins, but beating Florida State in Bloomington and UConn in New York in an unofficial road game are real wins.

Indiana fans are well known for focusing upon mistakes rather than praising positives, and I’m a big proponent of that  Turnovers are a pox, bad shots are unacceptable, defensive lapses show a lack of understanding, and a player not busting his ass back on defense because of an offensive miscue lights up Twitter like a Christmas tree.

Basketball for IU partisans is about a pursuit of excellence that yields outstanding results.  It’s not all wins and losses, but wins and losses as a reflection of development toward potential.  The positive evolution needs to be obvious.  It did not exist in a meaningful way under Tom Crean.  Basketball to Crean is not taught; it is choreographed – as it is for for many coaches.

Last night’s win was not a reflection of Indiana’s development and excellence, but of being slightly less bad than UConn.  The Hoosiers did enough wrong to lose to almost any good team, but UConn fouled and turned the ball over so often that IU scored three more points.

 

There is no need for anyone associated with IU Basketball to apologize for winning ugly, but celebrating the win would be equally misguided.

Last night’s victory was not a validation of growth, but a fortunate result of a game that shone a bright light on areas that should be of great concern.

Paul George can’t help but nauseate as he speaks to the media after beating Pacers

Paul George was special on the court last night, but ridiculous in his postgame comments.

Paul George has always been a brand first, and he represents that brand with occasionally excellent basketball but relentless self-importance and clumsiness in comments to the media.

George’s on court performance was outstanding last night for the Clippers in their 110-99 win over the Pacers.  His 36 points, nine rebounds, and five assists spoke for themselves, but George held a different kind of court after the game.  The results in that court were as awkward as he is graceful on the other.

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“You know, someday I’ll do a tell-all and tell the leading events of how I left Indiana.  And I promise you, I’m not the one to boo … I’m not gonna share the teaser,” George said.  “I like being the villain. I’m here two nights out of the year. The people they should boo is here a lot longer than I am.”

When asked about team president Kevin Pritchard’s remark that learning on George’s desire to be traded was a ‘gut punch’, George said, “You’re getting close to trying to get this story out, aren’t you?” George asked. “I’m not going to bad-mouth KP. That’s just Kevin’s side of the story.”

That’s typical Paul George.  Yammer and hope.  His comments have always been bereft of meaning – an odd dance around an idea based in partial truth, but never bluntly stated.  Last night’s defense of the handling of his request for a trade was especially silly and empty, even by George’s standards.

When he was with the Pacers, George was always cooperative in giving time to the media but incapable – or opposed – to sharing insight.  It was the same last night.  He says he should not be booed – that the jeers from Pacers fans should be directed elsewhere.  The reasons?  None that he would specifically share.  Just a vague swipe at the front office.

George threatened a tell-all.  The problem is that the few fans who might be interested in George’s unvarnished truth already know the story: George wanted out, and the Pacers accommodated – receiving two all-stars in exchange.  George went to Oklahoma City, where he demanded another trade after pledging loyalty similar to his public promise to Pacers fans that was issued simultaneous to his request for a trade.

I wonder if he’ll also threaten a tell-all of how he asked to be traded from the Thunder.

It appears to be more important to George that he is being booed at Bankers Life Fieldhouse than it is to those who did the booing.  Given a choice, as you see in the Twitter poll below, the vast majority of Pacers fans prefer the return received for George than George himself.

That’s nothing new for George.  He’s always seen himself as being more important and popular than he actually is.  As I write this, the poll shows 11 times more Pacers fans prefer Victor Oladipo and Domas Sabonis over George.

George has always been about branding.  Nothing wrong with that.  Branding equals money, and shoe money can help George and his family live a very comfortable life for generations.  What George has never been, despite his comment last night, is a villain – even in the cities he spurned by demanding a trade.

To become a sports villain, athletes need to win – they need to be loved and hated in equal measure.  So far, George hasn’t done that.  Despite what he thinks, George is neither loved nor hated among NBA fans.  He’s a guy.  Hell of a player, but a guy.

As a former Pacer, George is remembered for his lie rather than his play.  That doesn’t make him a villain.  It makes him a liar.

Maybe if George’s Pacers had earned a spot in the NBA Finals, fans would care more.  If the Thunder won a playoff series, Pacers fans would wonder what might have been.  Maybe if the Clippers win this season, Pacers fans will finally covet what George contributes.

But they will likely be more upset with Larry Bird for dealing Kawhi Leonard to the Spurs.  Even in retirement at the age of 63 and one of the best loved icons in Indiana basketball history, Bird dwarfs George as a villain.

With the playoffs a distant dream, Colts GM Chris Ballard needs to earn his money

Being an NFL GM looks like fun. Sometimes it is – sometimes not. This year for Chris Ballard has not been fun.

Improving a roster mismanaged by his predecessor has been relatively easy work for Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard.  Addition by subtraction makes heroes of a lot of managers – in sports and business.

When Ballard took over from Ryan Grigson almost three years ago, there was a lot of productive subtracting to do.

Now the work changes for Ballard and the Colts.  There are only five players drafted by Ryan Grigson who remain.  Add free agent tight end Jack Doyle and Bill Polian holdovers Anthony Castonzo and Adam Vinatieri, and that makes eight players Ballard inherited still with the Colts.

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Just four months ago, the Colts appeared to be a team evolving toward championship contention.  Then Andrew Luck retired 15 days prior to the opening of the 2019 regular season and everything changed.  Without an elite level starting quarterback, the Colts still managed a very solid 5-2 start.  Then the roof caved in as they have lost five of their last six.

At 6-7, the Colts appear to be a reflection of their new starting quarterback.  Jacoby Brissett was one of the NFL’s best backups, but by all statistical measures he is a thoroughly mediocre starter.  His closest comp is Jacksonville’s Gardner Minschew, who has completed exactly the same number of passes and just like Brissett sports three times as many TD passes as interceptions.

Ballard needs to take a very close look at Brissett and the rest of the roster he has assembled as the Colts look ahead from a decade that started with the end of the Peyton Manning era and will end with mediocrity.

There are several questions Ballard needs to answer for the Colts to take the next step in their quest to again be a championship contender:

Is Jacoby Brissett the long term answer at QB?  Ballard was not responsible for Luck’s retirement, and Brissett as a replacement gave the Colts a chance to compete if everything else went perfectly.  Nothing goes perfectly in the NFL, so the Colts have wobbled late in games, when elite quarterbacks win.  In each of the last three games, the Colts have lost after leading in the fourth quarter.  That doesn’t happen with elite QBs.  Can Ballard stomach the idea of drafting a quarterback in the first round when there is no guarantee he will be an immediate step up from Brissett?

Is the problem with the defense a matter of staffing or scheme?  Yesterday, the Colts forced four turnovers but still allowed the Bucs to score 38 points.  Most troubling was the result of the Colts playing a soft zone behind a blitz.  Bucs QB Jameis Winston torched the Colts for 456 yards and four TDs.  To what extent is coordinator Matt Eberflus responsible for that mess?  Did Eberflus lose the chess match with Bruce Arians, Byron Leftwich and Tom Moore, or do the Colts simply lack the horses to stop Winston?

Is Brissett’s mediocrity due to a lack of weapons?  As training camp opened, it was assumed the Colts wide receiving corps would include T.Y. Hilton, Devin Funchess, Parris Campbell, Chester Rogers, Deon Cain, and Daurice Fountain.  All have missed substantial time this season – three are on IR, one is playing for the Steelers, Hilton is sitting with a bum calf, and Campbell returned yesterday from a broken hand.  Tight end Eric Ebron is also on IR after having season ending surgery on both ankles.

The answer to this question will determine what Ballard will do in the first round of the upcoming draft.  Do the Colts draft a weapon at wide receiver, or snatch a quarterback?  Maybe they trade up to get the QB they covet.

Is Adam Vinatieri responsible for the Colts falling out of contention?  No one denies that Vinatieri did what he could to gut out a bum left knee during his 24th season, but a case can be made that with made kicks, four losses would have become wins.  If those misses magically became makes, the Colts could be 10-3 instead of 6-7.  The line between excellence and mediocrity in the NFL is just that thin.  Maybe a remarkably reliable kicker is the big fix.

Why are the Colts always near the top of the NFL in games lost to injury?  Is it Lucas Oil Stadium’s flat field, the medical staff, training camp protocols, bad luck or a combination that results in a woeful track record of health related miseries for the Colts?  Ballard needs to figure this out ASAP as it really doesn’t matter who he drafts if many are lost to a variety of traumas.

That’s a hell of a list of questions for a GM who was the toast of Indianapolis just four months ago as Colts fans dreamed of another Super Bowl with almost every roster and culture box checked.

That’s life for an NFL general manager where disaster lurks with every hit, cut, pass, and 4th and 2 call.  It’s why Ballard makes the big bucks.

Bob Knight should return to Assembly Hall to forgive, forget, and enjoy one more night of Hoosier love

I wish I could write that I don’t care about Bob Knight coming back to Assembly Hall – that Knight is an unrepentant and self-immersed bully unworthy of our time and emotional investment.

But that’s impossible for me.  I care that Indiana Basketball fans have a chance to thank Knight for 29 years of irrepressible excellence.  Knight’s demanding swagger still defines the Indiana Basketball brand more than 19 years after his firing.

Even with all that time having passed and the renovations, every look at Assembly Hall conjures Knight’s image.

Knight has moved back to Bloomington, so all that keeps him from walking through the tunnel one more time onto that court he prowled as its unquestioned emperor is a quick drive and swallowed false pride.

One of the reasons Knight has publicly stayed away from IU Basketball is anger over being fired by then IU president Myles Brand, whose zero tolerant policy was defied once too often.  Brand and the others responsible for Knight’s termination are either dead or retired, so Knight’s residual  anger must be directed toward university buildings and landmarks.

Few current students remember a time when Knight coached basketball at all – much less at Indiana.  Many will recoil at the idea of a person fired under the circumstances that caused Knight’s departure being honored as a conquering hero prior to an IU game, but let’s remember   the entire breadth of his work.

Not only did Knight teams win three NCAA championship and 11 Big 10 titles, virtually all of his student-athletes earned degrees and he never cheated.  Knight’s salary at IU was paltry compared to his contributions to the university.

Knight represented all that is both good and bad about college basketball.  Yeah, he was a brash and unapologetic ogre, but he also took time to visit elderly fans a significant drive from Bloomington.  He demanded relentless loyalty that he was unwilling to return, but there were also moments of extreme generosity.

People either love or hate Knight.  No one straddles the fence.

It’s well known that Knight’s health is not great.  He has lapses in memory, and public appearances can be uncomfortable when his synapses stop firing in sequence.  But like MacArthur, Knight deserves a grand send-off – a massive showering of affection and appreciation for the good that came from those 29 years at Assembly Hall.

Indiana players, students, and alums who view Knight through the lens that focuses entirely on the negative need to forgive and embrace the good – at least for one night.  Knight needs to do the same and allow himself to enjoy a night of adulation.

Each of us has a dark side, an unpleasant ego-filled angry place that is warm, comfortable and entertaining in the moment.  The wake of unpleasantness, resentment and the resulting loneliness it leaves is impossible to tolerate, so most adapt toward less offensive behavior.  At least most of us do.  Knight didn’t.  I hope he does now.

Who knows whether Knight forgives himself for his angry outbursts and wretched indulgences.  It’s possible he’s never acknowledged them.  Maybe he’s forgotten them.  That’s better than being amused and proud of them.  Forgiveness would be best.  Forgetting a distant second.  Proud comes in a last.

But whatever we have thought, and whatever he continues to think, one thing is true – Knight owes Indiana Basketball and its fans an opportunity to thank him, and he owes himself one more moment of loud and raucous adoration.

We don’t need to do it more than once.  That one time is enough.  But, damn, that one time would be great for everyone, especially for Knight.

Justice reigns as IHSAA will allow Southport HS hoops in state tourney, and extends coach’s suspension

Southport coach Eric Brand will sit – as he should – while his players will play.

Fairness was finally embraced by the IHSAA as it amended punishments levied against various parties within the Southport High School’s boys basketball program.

The Cardinals will be able to play in the state basketball tourney after all, while coach Eric Brand’s suspension will be extended from January until the end of the season.

The initial penalties arose when Brand wrote a check that covered the tuition that allowed a 6’6″ young man from the Congo to attend Southport.  The IHSAA correctly ruled the young man ineligible to compete as a member of the Southport basketball team.  Brand was suspended for a brief period, and a postseason ban for the team was levied.

The punishment was adjusted hours prior to an appeals hearing that was scheduled for this afternoon.  The statement from the IHSAA cited “new information” and a “spirit of compromise” as drivers for the change.

It is assumed that Brand volunteered to extend his suspension if the postseason ban for his team was lifted. The IHSAA listened and the adjustment was made to spare the students.

In this age of societal aversion to accepting a middle ground solution, it’s great to see the right thing done by a coach who violated rules as well as an organization that initially hit the wrong target in the punishment phase.

Teachers, coaches and those who govern them need to set an example for students, and everyone involved here did that in the end by exercising reason and embracing justice.

Indiana Football – winners on and off the field as beer sales make game days safer

Instead of winding up under the table, IU fans were more responsbible after beer and wine were made available inside Memorial Stadium.

Indiana University adopted a sane attitude this season about alcohol consumption at football games, and their wisdom was rewarded.

For decades, IU students and alums would binge drink during pregame tailgates so they could maintain their cool buzz throughout the four-hour game.  This year, IU joined a growing group of universities who sell beer and wine inside the stadium to fans who choose to drink.

The result was a 25% reduction in alcohol-related incidents at football games during the six home games.  According to a release from IU Athletics, “Indiana University Police Department and IU Event Services recorded a total of 40 alcohol-related incidents during IU’s six 2019 home football games for an average of 6.67 per game. Those totals are significantly lower than in each of the last three years, when there was an average of 59 incidents/season for an average of 8.85 per game.  The 6.67 incidents/game this season represents a 25 percent decrease compared to the 8.85 incidents/game during the 2016-18 seasons.”

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IU also released revenue numbers that refute the belief of those who view alcohol sales as a cash grab.  “The total gross revenue from beer and wine sales at IU’s six home football games in 2019 was just over $470,000. After expenses and revenue sharing, IU Athletics netted just over $200,000, exceeding (the) original projections of $171,000.”

$200K is tip money to a Big 10 member institution – roughly three weeks salary to basketball coach Archie Miller.  And 10% of that cash goes to support substance abuse programs on campus.

The reality was – and is – if people are going to drink, they are going to drink.  Schools can try to prevent students and alums determined to smuggle liquor into games – or sell them beer.  Indiana chose to embrace the latter and the result has been a win-win.

Students are safer, fewer people have been arrested, the game day experience has been enhanced, and a little bonus cash came to Indiana University.

Fans of IU Hoops and Michigan Football are not the same – Indiana fans have adjusted to mediocrity

Archie Miller is either on the cusp of breaking through a very low ceiling, or continuing to crouch comfortably beneath it.

Indiana Basketball fans are far saner than Michigan Football fans.

That false equivalence between two rabid fanbases has been made many times as both programs have failed for many years to live up to expectations.

In Ann Arbor, fans crave a win against Ohio State and a return to national prominence.  Year after year, they believe the Wolverines will finally find a way to win a Big 10 Championship and earn its first trip to the College Football Playoff.  They refuse to look at reality and understand their dream will never happen unless Columbus catches fire or is sucked into the center of the Earth.

They refuse to adjust their target toward what can be accomplished.

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Indiana fans get it.  They understand the Hoosiers road back to the Final Four or a sixth banner is beyond the program’s current grasp.  The last Final Four came in 2002 and the fifth banner was hung after the 1987 miracle run to New Orleans.  Winning an occasional Big 10 title is possible as we saw in 2013 and 2016, but a National Championship is a pipe dream.

No one in Bloomington believes Archie Miller is the second coming of Bob Knight, and they are right.  In his third year in Bloomington, Miller has improved recruiting but not results.  Maybe the forward evolution of Indiana Basketball will show itself tonight as the Hoosiers play their first bonafide opponent of the season.

Regardless of tonight’s result, Indiana fans would be thrilled with a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.  They have adapted to repeated disappointment.

Michigan fans covet a championship the Wolverines will never win.  If the Hoosiers are one of 68 teams invited to the March Madness party, there will be great rejoicing in Bloomington.

I’m not sure which group is to be applauded more enthusiastically – those in Michigan who hold that program accountable toward an impossible vision of greatness; or IU fans who are willing to settle for being one of 68.

It’s sad that Indiana has become an ordinary college basketball program, but the evidence is impossible to ignore.  The culture at IU began degrading in the mid-1990s, and nothing has been done to replace it.  Coaches like Mike Davis, Kelvin Sampson and Tom Crean have come and gone, but none has built a culture that brought consistent success.

It’s possible that Miller will be the guy to do the job, but visual evidence after two years and seven games suggests he has extended the Crean dogma of indifference to doing what it takes to win.  Player development seen at other programs hasn’t shown itself with the Hoosiers. Indiana plays basketball instead of competing.  That may be changing, but it’s been hard to evaluate as the Hoosiers meandered successfully through a November schedule filled with tomato cans.

Again, maybe tonight’s game against Florida State signals a change.  Maybe the Hoosiers sweeping Michigan State last year foreshadowed more consistent success.  Maybe Indiana finally cycling out of the players Crean recruited to Bloomington will allow IU to rise from the ashes of entrenched adequacy.

That’s a lot of maybes.

And maybe Indiana fans will adjust their dreams beyond what used to be taken for granted when (if) the Hoosiers ascend from OK to good.

At Michigan, they aren’t smart enough to know and accept who and what they are.  Indiana is different.  Fans here are plenty aware of their standing for the past three seasons among college basketball’s elite – on the outside of a crowded room of 68 teams.