Author Archives: Kent Sterling

“Call out screens” sign correctly mocked by IU fans after loss to Northwestern

Indiana was taken to the woodshed by Northwestern last night, but the shame wasn’t just because of the loss.

When talking about Indiana University Basketball, I try to be fair.

Leading or playing for the Hoosiers is tough.  IU fans are demanding in a way that makes affiliation with the program a good news/bad news dilemma.  Indiana coaches and players are adored and mocked in equal proportion.

There is no level of success, minus a national championship, that will satisfy a strange but passionate faction of the Hoosier faithful.

Tough gig.

But there are times when those inside the Hoosier program invite unpleasantness from even the most patient fans.  Last night was one of those times. Continue reading →

What Colts owner Jim Irsay should have said yesterday in announcing the firing of Ryan Grigson

Colts owner Jim Irsay did a nice job with the media last night, but it would have been more fun to hear him tell it like it really is.

“Thanks for coming out at a weird time.  I know you were in bars, malls, watching Indiana beat Michigan State, and spending time with your family, but my life doesn’t operate like that, so here we are on a Saturday at 5:45 in the afternoon

Five years ago, I screwed up.  I had become so sick and tired of Bill Polian’s ill-tempered antics around here that I kicked he and his son out of the building, and hired the guy I believed was most unlike Polian.

Ryan Grigson was the anti-Polian in many ways.  Totally unproven as a potential general manager, Ryan was just a scout with a less than championship level organization.  Sadly, one of the primary ways Grigson and Polian were different was in talent evaluation.

We hope he would grow as someone with a keen eye for dynamic football players.  Instead of evolving toward Polian in that area, Grigson adopted the least attractive aspects of Polian’s personality.

Fourteen seasons with Polian was justified by a Lombardi Trophy, a couple of Super Bowl trips, relentless regular season excellence, and a bunch of Pro Football Hall of Famers.  The five seasons with Ryan brought a mirage of early success followed by two years of unending mediocrity. Continue reading →

Jim Irsay announces Ryan Grigson fired in best all-time performance

Colts owner Jim Irsay was on his game tonight as he announced a new architect will be sought for his franchise.

Colts owner Jim Irsay occasionally concerns fans and media with his odd and rambling media appearances.

That was not the case tonight as he took only 20 minutes to explain his decision to fire general manager Ryan Grigson, retain Chuck Pagano, and state emphatically that Peyton Manning is not a candidate for the job.

Irsay looked good, and sounded better.

There were no strange off ramps as he made the announcements and then fielded questions from as big a media contingent as could squeeze into the Colts media room.  He didn’t wander at all.  Straight and to the point communication was delivered by a guy with a well-earned reputation for something just a little bit different. Continue reading →

Indiana’s Blackmon lifts Hoosiers – and then lifts Penn State fans with shush

James Blackmon silenced the fans in Unhappy Valley with a three-point dagger. Then he validated their invective by shushing them.

James Blackmon Jr. hit a hell of a shot last night to save the Hoosiers bacon after they allowed Penn State to erase a 13-point deficit in the last five minutes of the game.

Then he went “Shhhh!”

I tweeted about it.  Didn’t like it.    Most agreed, some didn’t, and those who didn’t reminded me of the idiot fans from Penn State.

They got personal and unpleasant.  I ignored most, and blocked one.  Their tweets were either designed to get me to respond, or just be hurtful in some way that fills an emptiness in their lives.  That’s not my game, so when I did respond, it was to either explain (almost always a waste of time) or to try to let them know they should save their silly rants for someone who is invested in their opinions.

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I wasn’t raging against a gleeful kid rightfully celebrating, but trying to communicate what legendary emperor and smart guy Marcus Aurelius did when he wrote, “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.”

When someone makes a comment or acts in a way designed to piss you off, the most powerful response is to completely ignore the person.  Responding to disrespect with an equal or greater dose of disrespect communicates how thin-skinned you are.

That is exactly what the fans at Penn State wanted – not the three-point dagger from Blackmon – but the response to show that their harassment bothered him.

When you play in a hostile environment, acknowledging fan blather only strengthens them.  Winning an argument with an idiot is impossible because an idiot never listens long enough to realize he is wrong.  Winning a verbal sparring match with fans is equally impossible as your participation represents winning to them.

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No question fans can be heinous, vicious, and acrimonious, but the right way to deal with them is to hit them where it hurts.  Blackmon did that by knocking down the shot that sent them home miserable.

That should be enough.

Kent Sterling hosts the fastest growing sportstalk show in Indianapolis on CBS Sports 1430 every weekday from 3p-7p, and writes about Indiana sports at kentsterling.com.

Jon Gruden to remain at ESPN – Colts will look for another answer or ask for fans’ patience

Chuckie is out, but there is a chance Jim Irsay isn't done talking to potential replacements for GM Ryan Grigson or coach Chuck Pagano.

Chuckie is out, but there is a chance Jim Irsay isn’t done talking to potential replacements for GM Ryan Grigson or coach Chuck Pagano.

The beautiful dream that Jon Gruden might swap his ESPN headphone with one worn by the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts died today.

Gruden knows he is a better broadcaster than a coach, and so he’s decided to stay in the booth rather than continue to engage in negotiations that likely would have yielded a deal in the neighborhood of 10-year, $100-million to run the football ops in Indy in the same way Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll do in New England and Seattle.

That was the hope of Colts fans – and Colts owner Jim Irsay, who knows plenty enough about football to see that the hires he made in 2012 were not his best work.

The truth is that Gruden was never the greatest coach in Oakland and Tampa, (95-81 regular season record leading the Raiders and Buccaneers, and a 5-4 mark in the playoffs buffeted by the Bucs 3-0 run to a Super Bowl Championship in 2002), but he represented hope for a fanbase in desperate need of glad tidings.

The Colts are coming off back-to-back 8-8 seasons, and the two worst defensive seasons since the team moved to Indy in 1984.  That defense has significant holes that may erode into gaping chasms over the next seven months through free agency and age. Continue reading →

Vote of confidence for Colts Chuck Pagano from Jim Irsay hardly binding

Jim Irsay might have been telling Chuck Pagano the truth, but then again ...

Jim Irsay might have been telling Chuck Pagano the truth, but then again …

Let’s say reports are true that Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano was told by owner Jim Irsay that he would return for 2017.

What exactly does that mean?

Maybe something, maybe nothing, and not a damn thing in many workplaces.

My experience professionally has been mostly restricted to media, but I have heard managers tell subordinates that their jobs are safe, only to see them fired weeks or months later.  It’s standard operating procedure.

Honestly answering an employee’s question as to what the shot is prior to a pre-planned termination is almost never done.  That’s how employers get sued.

So let’s assume for the moment that during the annual postseason de-brief, Pagano asked Irsay whether his job was safe.  Irsay, understanding the human resources repercussions of a transparent explanation, does what most managers with whom I have worked.  He either shades the truth or blatantly lies.

If Irsay is still looking for replacement, would he really share that with Pagano?  Not a chance. Continue reading →

Ken Pom math tells us Purdue 1st and Hoosiers 4th among Indiana’s Big 4 programs

Indiana fans are hooping mad at Tom Crean after a three-game losing streak, but it's better to judge exactly where the program has been over the last six years.

Indiana fans are hooping mad at Tom Crean after a three-game losing streak, but it’s better to judge exactly where the program has been over the last six years.

Is Indiana an elite college basketball program?

Not by Ken Pomeroy’s math, they aren’t.

Fans point to NCAA failures as evidence that IU’as star is dimming.  No National Championships in almost 30 years.  No Elite Eights since 2002.  Blah, blah, blah.

Forget about that March Madness stuff when evaluating IU.  One-and-done tournaments reward hyped-up underdogs.  Did you really believe Lehigh was a better team when they beat Duke a couple of years ago?

There have been thrilling wins against elite programs like the two this season against Kansas and North Carolina.  There have also been Big 10 regular season championships in 2013 and 2016, but other years wobbled in the opposite direction.

There is enough negative to embolden IU and Tom Crean detractors, and certainly enough positive too.  When in doubt, I turn to an objective standard driven by math to glean an answer to a ponderable like “Is Indiana an elite basketball program?” Continue reading →

Reports Colts bringing back Pagano (and Grigson?) must mean Manning a year away, right?

It appears there won't be a repeat of the awkward press conference of January, 2016, to announce 2017 will be same old, same old.

It appears there won’t be a repeat of the awkward press conference of January, 2016, to announce 2017 will be same old, same old.

There must be something else – an unseen chapter – to reports that the Colts are going too retain Chuck Pagano as the head coach of the team for 2017.

And if Ryan Grigson returns as general manager, there is absolutely has to be a future Plan A that Colts owner Jim Irsay is currently unwilling to reveal.

Must be, right?

After two consecutive 8-8 seasons in the worst division in the NFL, hope is in short supply both inside and outside the Colts offices on West 56th Street, and hope (as well as media cash) is the fuel that keeps revenue flowing into the coffers of pro sports franchises. Continue reading →

Butler knocks off previously unbeaten Villanova in all-time great win at Hinkle #GoDawgs

Another first tonight for one of college basketball's grand palaces

Another first tonight for Hinkle Fieldhouse – one of college basketball’s grand palaces

Butler did the near impossible tonight.  The Bulldogs out-executed and out-toughed Villanova.

In his postgame press conference tonight, Butler coach Chris Holtmann said, “Players win games.  Players win games.  Players win games.”  Yes they do – and yes they did.

It had to happen eventually.  Villanova’s reputation for grinding out wins possession by possession is well-earned, but tonight they didn’t have the same level of tenacity or crispness needed to beat a very good team on their own court.

So Butler got the 66-58 win in front of 10,000 Butler fanatics who were in fine form themselves.  “I’ve never heard Hinkle louder,” said Holtmann.

Not sure why it’s so much fun to watch this Butler team compete – a combination of history, culture, generosity, and grit, I suppose.

Butler had all that tonight, and they needed every bit of it.  The difference in this game can’t be found on the stat sheet, although Butler out-rebounded the Wildcats by nine.  Both teams took 51 shots.  Butler made every one of their 15 free throws while Villanova cashed on 14 of 17.

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This game was about staying between your man and the bucket, rebounding with two hands, and making the extra pass.  Tonight was a fundamental basketball ground war, and Butler did everything it needed to as they pulled away late, while Villanova blinked and blinked and blinked after taking a four-point lead with 9:06 to play.

People will talk about this game, but not for long because this game is just what Butler has become as a member of the Big East.  Sure it’s the first time Butler has ever beaten a #1 team at Hinkle – at least the first time since the Earth cooled or voters cast ballots ranking college basketball teams – but this game is likely the first that one of the Big East’s best takes a very good team to task for not matching the Bulldogs level of fight and precision.

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Great night at Hinkle.  Hopefully, the first of many like it.

Kent Sterling hosts the fastest growing sportstalk show in Indianapolis on CBS Sports 1430 every weekday from 3p-7p, and writes about Indiana sports at kentsterling.com.