Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Top 10 reasons fans were wrong in cheering Kobe Bryant’s name at Bankers Life Fieldhouse last night

Fans at Bankers Life Fieldhouse cheered a basketball player instead of booing a rapist. That's mistake #1.

Fans at Bankers Life Fieldhouse cheered a basketball player instead of booing a rapist. That’s mistake #1.

To hear fans at Bankers Life Fieldhouse chant “Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!” last night made my skin crawl.

Some called the fans’ appreciation of Kobe Bryant classy.  I call it ignorant, narrow-minded, and ridiculously forgiving.  It wasn’t as bad as people advocating for criminal behavior by paying to watch Floyd Maywether Jr. fight, but I found myself shaking my head in the same way when I heard it.

Fans need to be a little more discerning in choosing their heroes, and last night was a great example.

Here are the 10 reasons the fans at Bankers Life Fieldhouse screwed up last night by validating Kobe’s selfish and careless behavior, the cowardice of Roy Hibbert, and the overall misery of the Lakers franchise:

10 – Kobe and the Lakers ruined the Pacers last best chance.  The Pacers have played in one NBA Finals, and it was against the Lakers in 2000.  if not for Kobe becoming great at the wrong time, the Pacers would own a World Championship.  Not that I’m bitter.

Click here to follow Kent on Twitter

9 – If the Lakers win out, they won’t make the playoffs.  This is a truly terrible basketball team with a relic as its centerpiece.  Watching Kobe lead the second worst team in the NBA on a barnstorming tour of gracious goodbyes/relentless ass-kickings is no way for a champion to go out – unless he is in it only for the cash.  That appears to be the case.  Cheering Kobe’s name is like cheering for one of the cash-first bankers who tanked our economy in 2008.  If the Lakers win the final 28 games left on the schedule, they will finish 39-43 – a record that will not qualify for the playoffs.

8 – Unlike Peyton Manning, Kobe hasn’t seen the writing on the wall.  Kobe stopped being an effective player after the 2012-2013 season when he led the 45-37 Lakers in scoring with over 27 points per game.  Injuries plagued Bryant from that point forward, and while his attempts to rehab have allowed him to find his way to occasional bursts of productivity, the Lakers would certainly not be any worse than their current 11-43 record without him.  Showing up to watch him play is akin to attending a living wake.

7 – Kobe stunk on ice last night.  Minus two admittedly thrilling minutes late in the fourth quarter when Kobe hit four straight shots to turn a six-point Lakers deficit into a three-point lead, the stat line for this player who has stayed in the game too long was awful – 2-of-2 for eight points.  Including the 4-4 outburst, he was still inefficient, scoring 19 points on 25 shots.  Hard to blame Bryant for taking one more tour when the Lakers are paying him more than $22M to lead a terrible 11-43 team, but that doesn’t mean we have to cheer the guy.

6 – The Laker who deserves our applause is the captain of this Titanic.  Byron Scott has been entrusted with the day-to-day leadership of this terrible team, but before he was a coach, he was a Pacer for the 1993-1994 and 1994-1995 seasons.  Scott was instrumental in instilling the discipline necessary to consistently win as he came off the bench those two seasons.  The Pacers went to game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals both of those years, and Scott was a huge part of that success.  Chant his name, not Bryant’s.

5 – Bankers Life Fieldhouse is the home of the Pacers.  A polite round of applause from those willing to overlook the sexual assault allegation against Kobe would have been plenty.  Cheering Bryant’s name at the end of the game was a slap in the face of the franchise that has called Indianapolis home for a half century.  Paul George, George Hill, CJ Miles, and the rest of the Pacers bust their humps to bring a championship banner here, and fans yell for an opponent during the game?

4 – The sudden about face in Kobe’s behavior is nauseatingly transparent.  People who are nice only when it benefits them is sickening.  That’s pragmatism, not decency.  Kobe spent his entire career being an ass – to teammates, fans, opponents, and everyone else – and now that his playing career is ending, Kobe knows that his image needs a serious makeover if he is to profit substantially as a celebrity.  That’s the reason for the waving, smiling, and overall graciousness.  If you want to fall for it, that’s your business.  I’m not buying it.

3 – Metta mighta played.  I have a soft spot for Metta World Peace (a.k.a. Ron Artest), and it would have been fun to see him on the floor he called home for three seasons and parts of two others.  He was like a nutty and unpredictable cousin, but he was ours.  I especially enjoyed his work in 2002-2003 when Artest posted career highs in DQs (7), flagrant fouls (9), and technical fouls (14).  Seeing him play last night would have given fans a chance to say goodbye in what is likely Ron-Ron’s last season too.  Chanting “Metta! Metta! Metta!” would have been odd, but more righteous than “Kobe!”

2 – Roy Hibbert turned chicken and didn’t even suit up.  Okay, that has little to do with Kobe, but I still can’t get over Roy taking the coward’s way out and sitting after starting every single game this season.  Hibbert was an occasionally popular player in Indy during his seven seasons here.  A very supportive teammate, but less than consistent competitor, Hibbert chose not to risk hearing a chorus of boos or cheers (probably a mix) when introduced by Pacers PA voice Michael Grady.  Fans were always polite when Hibbert as a Pacer fell and struggled to his feet like a baby giraffe.  Last night, it would have prompted all 18,000 to laugh.  That would have been the most entertaining moment authored by Hibbert in Bankers Life Fieldhouse since 2013.  And could he have found a jacket that fit?

Click here for a $1 comprehensive dental exam done by the best dentist in Indiana – Dr. Mike O’Neil at Today’s Dentistry

1 – Rape allegations against Bryant in 2003.  While never convicted, Bryant admitted in writing as part of the settlement of a civil suit that his victim experienced rape at a hotel in Edwards, Colorado.  There is a special place in hell for those who abuse women, but while Kobe is still here on Earth there is no need to forget the rape and cheer this man because he has been really good throwing a leather ball through a hoop.

Super Bowl 50’s top 10 strange, iconic, and disappointing moments

Sometimes the big moment in a Super Bowl comes during the game - and sometimes after, as was the case with this kiss between Peyton Manning and Papa John.

Sometimes the big moment in a Super Bowl comes during the game – and sometimes after, as was the case with this kiss between Peyton Manning and Papa John.

Super Bowls are always defined by those images that are seared into our memories.  Whether it’s Jackie Smith dropping a perfectly thrown touchdown pass by Roger Staubach in Super Bowl XIII, William ‘the Refrigerator’ Perry scoring a touchdown in Super Bowl XX, John Elway’s whirlybird after a scramble in Super Bowl XXXII, or the halftime shows and commercials that become iconic, the Super Bowl is more event than game.

Last night’s game had its moments with good and bad with Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and Broncos QB Peyton Manning in the middle of almost all of them.  Here is a sampling – the 10 that stood out to me:  (Feel free to add your own in the comments.)

10 – Mike Carey misdiagnoses yet another replay. Seeing it live, I thought the pass from Newton to Panthers wide receiver Jericho Cotchery was complete, and then when the replay was shown, I was sure it was.  When Jim Nantz invited replay analyst Mike Carey to the party to share his perspective, and Carey agreed with me, I knew I would be wrong.  Sure enough, the replay was said to confirm the call on the field as incomplete.  This call changed the game completely as two plays later the Broncos recovered a Newton fumble for a touchdown. Continue reading →

Indiana Basketball no longer must see TV on a Saturday night

Tom Crean hopes in vain last night that his Hoosiers can find a way to beat a far less talented Penn State team.

Tom Crean hopes in vain last night that his Hoosiers can find a way to beat a far less talented Penn State team.

So there I stand at Drake’s on 82nd Street in Indianapolis picking up some carry out, and the Indiana game against Penn State starts.  A guy I met because he listens to my radio show asks, “Are you sticking around for the Indiana game?”

“Nope, just picking up some food,” I tell him.

As I walk out of the place with a buffalo chicken quesadilla and some boneless buffalo chicken bites (I had a hankering for some spicy chicken, I guess), I am thinking that it’s really odd that I’m not at home that moment watching the game.

Over the last 30 years, I have rarely missed a minute of Indiana Basketball, even driving from the north side of Chicago to Griffith, Indiana, in 1992 to catch a game on channel 56 that was otherwise not broadcast.

For this game at Penn State, I decided the Hoosiers didn’t need to be my top priority – buffalo chicken was.   Continue reading →

Top 10 reasons we continue to remember and celebrate the 1985 Chicago Bears 30 years later

Buddy Ryan carried off the field after Super Bowl XX by members of the best defense ever assembled.

Buddy Ryan carried off the field after Super Bowl XX by members of the best defense ever assembled.

Last night, a thoroughly enjoyable look back at the 1985 Chicago Bears aired as part of the ESPN 30 for 30 series.  It documented the season of grace enjoyed by the team, city, and fans as they tracked perfection – not in record, but as a play by play objective.

They captured America’s imagination 30 years ago with fury, diligence, and minus one miserable night in Miami – a level of perfect football that has never been seen in the NFL.  They were – and are – known simply as the ’85 Bears, who tore through a lone Championship season with style charisma, and love for one another.

The Bears were not the team of the 1980s.  That distinction belongs to the San Francisco 49ers, but ask fans and experts who the best team of all-time is, and that group of Bears are always mentioned at or near the top of the list.

One of the few teams to not only believe in their own excellence but compel others to accept it as fact, the Bears tirelessly chased greatness, and finally caught it for three months before it finally wriggled free as it always seems to.

Here are the 10 reasons we still talk about the 1985 Chicago Bears:

10 – Minus the aberrant loss to the Miami Dolphins, the Bears outscored opponents 360-82 in final 13 games of season.  Including the playoffs, the Bears thoroughly dominated the NFL in a way no post-merger team ever has.  This team wasn’t about winning – it was about milking the best football possible out of each play.  The result was a level of football that still defines excellence. Continue reading →

Top 10 reasons Peyton Manning should be playing in his final game this Sunday

Ask not, Peyton manning, for whom the bell tolls - it will toll for thee this Super Bowl Sunday.

Ask not, Peyton manning, for whom the bell tolls – it will toll for thee this Super Bowl Sunday.

Since he can remember, Peyton Manning’s focus has been consumed by what was next in his career as one of the finest quarterbacks to ever play football.  Putting that away and moving on to what is next in his life will be excruciating, but the time will come Sunday night for Manning to do exactly that.

There will be pangs of regret fueled by questions that rattle around in that huge noggin of his as to whether Manning might be able to wring out one more season from his aging and increasingly creaky body.

Reports persist that Manning has already made the decision to ride into the sunset after Super Bowl L, and that is the correct audible by a guy who has earned a handsome living checking down at the right time since being drafted #1 overall in 1998 by the Indianapolis Colts.

If Manning needs a little help with a list of pros and cons as he weighs the wisdom of pulling the plug on his hall of fame career, I have 10 compelling entries for the con column right here:

10 – The fastball is gone, and the change-up will be next.  Manning can still deliver the ball to the perfect spot, but he needs to release it before the receiver begins his cut.  So far so good as there is still enough velocity on the ball to keep defenders from running under his passes like they are weak punts.  Guile can only get a quarterback so far, and Manning has gotten to exactly that point.  If he loses any more velocity, the ball might fall backward out of his hand.  Continue reading →

National Signing Day – Top 10 reasons I never want to be the head football coach at Indiana – or anywhere else

Kevin Wilson has made it work at Indiana, but I wouldn't swap spots with him for anything.

Kevin Wilson has made it work at Indiana, but I wouldn’t swap spots with him for anything.

Before we even start, I don’t know enough about football to lead a junior high team.  At no point in my life did I think being the head football coach at a Power Five conference university would be a great career path for me, so this notion that I don’t want that job did not just dawn on me.

Today is National Signing Day – the day that coaches wait for faxes from young men they have recruited to play for them.  Teenagers and their families are solidifying their decisions today by signing a binding letter of intent to become student-athletes at schools all across the country.

Until coaches get that LOI, they are hoping and trusting that the kid and his family keep the promise they made when they committed because the recruiting only intensifies when a player pledges to attend and play for a school.  As the late college basketball coach Lefty Driessel always said, “When a kid commits, that just means now I know who I gotta beat to get the kid.”

National Signing Day can make or break a coach, and so the thought of how thrilling or stressful a day like this can be for a coach is top of mind.

Even beyond my obvious limitations in football, and despite the cash, there are so many reasons to look at the job as football coach as a meat-grinder that I simply would refuse on principle to participate in that vocation.

Here are the top 10 of many, many reasons for me to pass on an offer that will never come:

10 – Meet and greets.  It’s exceptionally important to the health of a football program that the coach be socially adept with boosters and alums.  Preparing a team for a Big Ten season, recruiting, ensuring NCAA compliance, and mandating academic progress toward a meaningful degree is not enough.  Coaches also have to glad hand those who write giant checks to the university.  Sounds as joyless and monotonous as being a politician.  Yikes! Continue reading →

Indy’s Daily Sports List – Top 10 reasons tonight is massive for Butler and Indiana Basketball

Butler coach Chris Holtmann would like to avoid looking like this tonight as the Bulldogs host Georgetown.

Butler coach Chris Holtmann would like to avoid looking like this tonight as the Bulldogs host Georgetown.

Tonight will be a great night of college hoops for those of us in central Indiana who view it as one of America’s four major leagues, and the scheduling gods have smiled on us again as the two big games don’t conflict with one another.

Butler hosts Georgetown at 7p (FS1), and Indiana will take on their first top six team of the season in the Big Ten at Michigan immediately after (ESPN).

Both games are incredibly important for each program for different reasons as each heads in a different direction.

Butler needs a win to rescue a season.  Indiana needs to prove itself worthy of national recognition after a schedule that has been less than daunting so far.

Here are the 10 reasons you should spend tonight watching college hoops:

10 – Max Bielfeldt returns to Michigan.  There is nothing quite like facing a team for whom you played for years.  There are rivalries and there are rivalries, and the biggest any of us enjoys is facing your former employer.  Bielfeldt served Michigan faithfully, and is now pursuing a graduate degree at the Kelley School of Business.  He’s been productive off the bench as a Hoosier, but might feel a need to bring a little extra as the Hoosiers fight to hang on to their share of first place in the Big Ten as he faces old teammates and bosses. Continue reading →

Indy’s Daily Sports List – 10 reasons why we should either love or hate LeBron James

Love him or hate him, LeBron James is the most famous player in the NBA.

Love him or hate him, LeBron James is the most famous player in the NBA.

LeBron James comes to town tonight for a game against the Indiana Pacers, and his visits to Indy are always worth watching for a variety of reasons.

Pacers fans have dreams of another visit to the NBA Finals, and if a team other than LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers is going to represent the Eastern Conference, it will have to go through them.

James was in the news 11 days ago when Cavs coach David Blatt was replaced by assistant Tyronn Lue.  Reports pointed to James being the motivator for the change.  Given the Cavs 30-11 record at the time of the firing, and their trip to the NBA Finals in his only other season as coach, it seemed unlikely management would have pulled the trigger. Continue reading →

Indy’s Daily Sports List – Top 10 things athletes/coaches should never do

If your the head coach of a college basketball team, a picture like this will result in the need to seek employment elsewhere - as was the case in 2003 for Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy (shown at a party with Mizzou students after an Cyclones loss to the Tigers).

If your the head coach of a college basketball team, a picture like this will result in the need to seek employment elsewhere – as was the case in 2003 for Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy (shown at a party with Mizzou students after an Cyclones loss to the Tigers).

Wednesday night, Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman cross-checked a linesman to the ice on his way to the bench.  He has since been suspended by the NHL pending an investigation.

That overt violent act against a professional official brought to mind a series of things athletes and coaches should never do on and off the field, court, or rink.

It’s sports after all – a diversion from life and death, not life and death itself.  Work hard, test skill, eat, love, sleep, repeat.  That’s a life in sports.

Take it too seriously, and the very worst traits of humanity – all we hope never to be – are shown right there under the bright lights, on Sportscenter, and through a social media viral explosion.

Here are 10 very solid guidelines for behavior athletes and coaches should never engage in.   Deviate from these tenets, and you might be the next Dennis Wideman.

Never, ever, ever…

10 – Answer idiots on social media/message boards.  Those who enter the arena to battle under the bright lights have very few to answer to, and none of them spend time on message boards.  Critics have no understanding of the sacrifices made to compete.  Their ignorance is not worthy of your attention or response – angry or reasonable. Continue reading →