Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Indy’s Morning Sports List – Top seven cool sports related things to do this weekend

by Kent Sterling

George Hill and the Pacers will rock the Hickory uniforms tonight against the Miami Heat.

George Hill and the Pacers will rock the Hickory uniforms tonight against the Miami Heat.

Like many sports weekends in central Indiana, there is plenty to keep you occupied, and if you don’t have tickets or the cash to buy them, that shouldn’t keep you on your couch.

Time to get out and do something – anything to enjoy life among your friends, family, and strangers who may become friends.

Here are the top seven things you can do this weekend instead of sitting around awaiting death.

Pacers rock Hickory unis vs. Heat – tonight 8:10p – We love “Hoosiers” in Indiana.  In fact, everyone loves “Hoosiers”.  It’s the go-to pick for best sports movie of all-time, and tonight the Indiana Pacers will wear Hickory jerseys to celebrate the basketball heritage of the Hoosier state.  The Pacers will use these events to celebrate the people who have made basketball and Indiana synonymous.

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Colts vs. Broncos – Sunday, 4:25p – Peyton Manning’s final game at the stadium he built will come this Sunday when the undefeated Broncos visit Lucas Oil Stadium.  Without the extended run of excellence that coincided with Manning’s era in Indianapolis, it’s damn likely the Colts would have moved to Los Angeles 15 years ago.  Indiana high school football coaches cite Manning as the motivation for a generation of kids to play and excel at football.  The legacy of Manning as a player in Indianapolis will end this weekend, but the after shocks will be felt for generations.

IU vs. Iowa – Saturday, 3:30p – Indiana hosts the undefeated Iowa Hawkeyes, and while it would seem a longshot to hope that Indiana can compete successfully with a national championship contender, the Hoosiers have been close to getting over the hump against both Ohio State and Michigan State this season.  Regardless of the results, a visit to Bloomington is all kinds of fun.  Really, graduates returning to Bloomington have learned to enjoy an autumn day (and night) without investing in the result of the game.  If Indiana wins, great.  If they lose, great.  The result is the same – let’s go to Nick’s!

High School Football – tonight 7:00p – As we enter the third weekend of the tournament, 75% of the teams that hoped to reach Lucas Oil Stadium are at home, and after tonight’s games 50% will have played their last game this season.  That means players and coaches will be emotionally invested, and the games will be dramatic.  Many sports fans grouse about the indifference with which some professionals compete.  Head to a high school football game tonight, and you will see a decided lack of indifference.

Butler vs. St. Joe’s – Saturday, 8:00p – Any trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse is well worth the effort and expense.  It’s a beautiful place, and the Bulldogs have a chance to be very good this season.  Kellen Dunham is a potential All-American, and the team first basketball played relentlessly at Butler is a welcome change from the self-impressed me-first hooping done at other venues in Indiana.

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Go play something yourself – The weather tomorrow (Saturday) is supposed to be sunny with a high of 57.  That’s warm enough for any outdoor stuff you might choose.  last weekend, a friend called and said, “We’re playing baseball in Zionsville, get out here!”  I got in the car.  A neighborhood game of baseball among friends might seem an odd choice for a bunch of 40-53 year olds, but why?  Is it fun?  Yes.  Do we still have enough athleticism in the tank to swing, throw, catch, and run from station to station?  Hell yeah!  So what’s keeping you from doing it.

Clear your schedule for a couple of hours next weekend to see Angelo Pizzo’s new film, “My All-American” which opens November 13th.  Angelo is the guy who wrote “Hoosiers” and “Rudy”, and this movie is similar in tone and theme, but equally satisfying.  Kids will love it, and if you are the coach of a youth football team, a field trip for the entire group is a must.  I saw a sneak preview last night, and it’s a very special film about love, dedication, and faith – all through the prism of football.

Indy’s Morning Sports List – Top five silly things Colts coach Chuck Pagano said yesterday

by Kent Sterling

Chuck Pagano's talks with the media have become strained and strange, and yesterday was among the strangest.

Chuck Pagano’s talks with the media have become strained and strange, and yesterday was among the strangest.

Chuck Pagano is a good football coach whose battle against leukemia inspired millions.  His leadership was part of the equation that led the Indianapolis Colts to three straight 11-5 records and three playoff wins.  But he is quickly unraveling because of the pressure of being a lame duck (in the final year of his contract) coach for an underachieving team.

Yesterday, he spoke to the media to explain the firing of his offensive coordinator, and the words the emerged from his mouth were sort of confused, odd, and reflective of the difficult times for the team he leads.

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Here are the top five nuttiest things Pagano said yesterday (taken verbatim from the transcript the Colts provided):

1 – “At the end of the day as the head football coach it’s my responsibility to make these calls and mine alone. Mr. Irsay and Ryan Grigson and myself, we’re all on the same page, so when I say alone, I’m talking the organization, myself.”  It’s his responsibility and his alone, but it’s a responsibility shared with Grigson and Irsay?  Wincing is the proper response to this meandering and ultimately meaningless and confused response.  

2 – “I think we saw on Monday Night Football a football team because of its grit, its perseverance and its character down 17 points with less than a quarter to play against a football team on the road, undefeated, playing as good as anybody in the National Football League comeback, force overtime and take the lead in overtime. That just doesn’t happen unless you have the right people. We’ve got the talent. We’ve got the grit. We’ve got the character.”  Okay, so the Colts had the talent, grit, and character to comeback from a deficit too large to completely overcome.  What was with the guys who stumbled into that 17-point hole?  Those were Colts too.  I get the need to try to put lipstick on that pig of a loss, but insulting fans with this absurd depiction of his team is unnecessary.

3 – “I’m very grateful that Chud would take over and do this. I don’t think, not everybody would accept the responsibility and do that considering the timing.”  Grateful?  Is being the OC for the Colts not a great (or even good) gig.  Working with Andrew Luck, Frank Gore, TY Hilton, Donte Moncrief, and Coby Fleener is an invitation to misery?  What the hell would it say for the Colts if “Chud” refused this promotion?  If this was worthy of Pagano’s thanks, would Chud saying no be very understandable?  Is being the Colts OC like being George McGovern’s running mate in the 1972 presidential election?  

4 – “We’re all accountable. I’m accountable. I’ve got to coach better. Everybody has got to play better. Everybody is accountable. We win as a team and we lose as a team. This doesn’t fall on one man’s shoulders.”  This was in response to a question about turnovers, but whatever is happening to the Colts, the responsibility for it just fell solely on Pep Hamilton’s shoulders, head, torso, and reputation.

5 – “Next to the ’85 Bears and the 2000 Ravens I don’t know if I’ve seen a defense quite like this.”  This quote shows some clarity despite the lunacy it represents.  Setting expectations for the Broncos defense to historic levels might buy Pagano a couple of weeks of grace if the offense craps the bed Sunday, but the Broncos have a long way to go to actually earn that comparison – one worthy of the rabidly hyperbolic Lou Holtz.

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The Colts are in the midst of a tough time of their own making, and Pagano’s increasing confusion is a symptom of the chaos.  Bad drafts, bad free agent signings, a historically terrible trade, a refusal to extend Pagano’s contract or allow him to choose his own offensive coordinator until two days ago.  All have conspired to bring the franchise to this odd time not representative of the era of consistent high performance all but two seasons since 1999.

These are interesting times on West 56th Street, and they are taking their toll on a good man and coach.

Indy’s Morning List – Top eight reasons Colts are a very wobbly 3-5, (Pep Hamilton as OC wasn’t among them)

by Kent Sterling

Pep might be gone, but he was't a cause of the Colts problems, so he is removal won't fix the team.

Pep might be gone, but he was’t a cause of the Colts problems, so he is removal won’t fix the team.

If at this time yesterday, you put together a list of the top 10 reasons the Indianapolis Colts are 3-5 halfway through what was expected to be a season that ended in a Super Bowl, offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton’s work would not have been one of them.

At least I don’t think it would be.

Yet Hamilton was fired yesterday as though his being replaced by Rob Chudzinski will cure the ills of the NFL’s most disappointing team.

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Maybe it will, but if Chud will be a better OC eight games into the 2015 season, why wasn’t he seen in that light prior to the season.  Who made this decision, and if it’s the right one, why wasn’t it made nine months ago?

Here are eight reasons for the Colts foundering at the midway point of the 2015 season:

Andrew Luck is not delivering the ball on time or on target.  Scheme has little to do with Luck’s wobbly performances throughout his three-and-a-half year career.  He was erratic as a rookie, and has continued to exercise occasional lapses in judgment that have caused numerous interceptions – and many more near misses.

Trent Richardson sucked.  If the brains of offensive geniuses Tom Moore and Don Coryell were fused to become the Stephen Hawking of how to matriculate the football down the field, Trent Richardson still would have averaged 3.1 yards per carry because he was fat.

Bjoern Werner was not worthy of a first round draft pick.  Nothing against him – he seems like a very nice guy who is only capable of playing as well as he can – but Le’Veon Bell, DeAndre Hopkins, Kewann Short, Travis Frederick, Alec Ogletree, and Cordarrelle Patterson were all taken shortly after Werner, and all would be a difference maker for the Colts that Werner isn’t.  Second guessing drafts is shooting fish in a barrel, and can be an unfair way to measure a GM, but this was an enormous mistake.

Being ranked last in the NFL in turnover ratio has two parts – turnovers allowed and turnovers forced.  The Colts offense has nothing to do with the lack of turnovers forced by the defense.  No pressure on the quarterback makes the secondary vulnerable to big plays and keeps turnovers from being generated in bulk.

The most valuable player for the Colts is punter Pat McAfee.

Maybe the Colts would have been better off keeping Peyton Manning and dealing the #1 pick.  Allowing Peyton Manning to leave for Denver was the logical move at the time because of his health, but if the Colts had traded the draft rights to Andrew Luck and kept Manning, the bounty reaped would have been greater than what the Rams received for the #2 pick in the same draft – three first round picks and a second.  The Rams spun those picks into a total of seven productive players.  Not saying I was smart enough to see that as a solid strategy as I was totally on board with drafting Luck and parting with Manning, but could Manning seven or more high draft picks found a way to greater success than Luck plus the pieces GM Ryan Grigson has cobbled together?

Colts offensive line against Bills and Eagles was chosen by Grigson.  The decision to try to protect Luck with Jack Mewhort as a right tackle and Todd Herremans at guard belonged to Grigson, and it was a train wreck that put Luck under duress.

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Jim Irsay and Grigson refused to offer Pagano a meaningful extension.  Because Pagano came into the season as a lame duck, his decision making has been erratic.  This decision started dominos falling that make Pagano leaving the Colts likely.  It can’t be said with certainty that Pagano would not have dipped deep into his bag of tricks for a fake punt scheme against the Patriots that proved disastrous for a variety of reasons, but he’s never done it before.

There are eight pretty good reasons that the Colts are underachieving in 2015, and only three have anything at all to do with Hamilton – McAfee MVP, Luck interceptions, and offensive turnovers.  You can’t really blame Hamilton for fumbles though.

Hamilton is gone because the pressure cooker needed to breath a little bit, and Hamilton packing his stuff this morning is going to give both Grigson and Pagano a few weeks of grace where Irsay’s expectations won’t be nearly as daunting to reach.

That Hamilton being fired was seen by someone in a position to fire him as a solution to a problem with the Colts is likely a symptom of the bigger issues that have brought this team to the precipice of completely unraveling.

Indianapolis Colts OC Pep Hamilton fired as upper management fights for jobs

by Kent Sterling

Pep Hamilton was the first to go, but his firing will likely only buy others time.

Pep Hamilton was the first to go, but his firing will likely only buy others time.

Jack Nicholson told a story in an interview about how prisoners in concentration camps who were murdered with poisonous gas by the Nazis were found.  Men on top, women beneath them, and children at the bottom of the pile.

A vent was near the ceiling and the higher up people went, the longer they survived.  The strong stood on the weak for a few more seconds of life.  While hardly noble, a human being’s instinct for survival is strong.

That’s how professional life works with most people too, and so as the pressure of a 3-5 record for the Indianapolis Colts became too great, Pep Hamilton was trapped on the floor under the weight of general manager Ryan Grigson and Chuck Pagano as they fight to get closer to the vent.

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All are doomed, minus a miracle reversal of fortune doing the second half of a season where expectations were so high not so long ago, my hair is now blond (a story for a different time).  But that won’t stop the Colts bigwigs from fighting for their own survival.

Was Pep Hamilton a great offensive coordinator?  Not by any reasonable statistical measure.  One of his predecessors, Tom Moore, was great.  He quietly put players in a position to succeed, and many became stunningly productive assets.  Several are or will be hall of famers.

Like many really smart guys, Hamilton always seemed determined to outsmart defenses rather than put his players in a position where they could best succeed, but whatever problems have caused the Colts to stumble so badly – especially in the early portions of games like last night’s thrilling debacle in Charlotte – Hamilton is but a small cause.

There are issues like the almost complete lack of pass rush for which Hamilton cannot be held even remotely culpable.  Vontae Davis and Greg Toler were not exactly shut down corners last night either.  The quality of the drafts and free agent signings were not in Pep’s arena either.

If Hamilton’s firing buys Pagano a little more cover, or maybe more to the point allows him to go out with the staff of his choosing, at least he and the Colts can be sure the right move is made at the end of the season if Pagano needs to go.  From this point forward, Hamilton cannot be used as a scapegoat.

Grigson hired Hamilton to replace Bruce Arians, who accepted the head coaching position with the Arizona Cardinals after leading the Colts to the playoffs during Pagano’s convalescence as he successfully fought leukemia.  Pagano brought in Rob Chudzinski as a special assistant over a year ago, and he was promoted to associate head coach after the 2014 season ended.

Chudzinski will replace Hamilton, and at the very least Pagano will now be able to sink or swim with his own staff.

Hamilton became a more likely patsy with each week for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was his relentless desire to accept responsibility for all of the offense’s woes.  Every damn week, Hamilton would stand at the podium to claim guilt for all offensive misfires during the previous game.

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Pagano was (and is) much more politic.  When he accepts responsibility, it’s a vague admission bereft of elocution for the specific crime of which he is guilty.  He initially received a bit of credit for saying the chaotic fake punt against the Patriots was on him until it was revealed what specifically Pagano was actually guilty of.  The vague falling on the sword did nothing to provide Griff Whalen cover for snapping the ball.

The Colts may have solved a problem today, but when the story of the Colts 2015 season is written and complete, Hamilton’s role in it is much more likely as a fall guy rather than a root cause of the serious problems that have caused this team to stagger through a three-game losing streak with a fourth straight tough game ahead Sunday against the NFL’s best defense.

Hamilton might be at the bottom of the pile as those standing on him fight for oxygen, but he likely won’t be the last to be offered up as continued hope is sold to fans by the Colts.

Indianapolis Colts – Questions about Andrew Luck swirl; answers will determine success or failure

by Kent Sterling

There are a lot of questions swirling around the Colts right now, and most revolve around the erratic play of Andrew Luck.

There are a lot of questions swirling around the Colts right now, and most revolve around the erratic play of Andrew Luck.

Questions – so many questions.  A few answers too.  Through seven games, including last night’s thrilling overtime loss in Charlotte, what do we know, what might we guess, and how must the Colts respond?

How can the same Colts offense produce three-plus quarters of historic offensive ineptitude, and then become explosive and productive in the fourth?

If Andrew Luck’s awful performance through three quarters last night (40 yards passing) can be explained by a physical injury, what explains his excellence in the fourth quarter (185 yards passing)?  

If the Colts weren’t prepared for the first three quarters, why did they appear to be up to the challenge of the fourth?  

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Betting the under might be smart, but is it worth the anguish of a game like last night?  The over/under for the Colts vs. Panthers was 46.  That looked like a lock after the Panthers scored early in the fourth quarter to make the score 23-6.  The Colts were impotent and the Panthers would likely run clock.  Then the Colts awakened and smart guy gamblers wept.

How can the Colts be 3-5, and still lead the AFC South?  That’s actually a question with a simple answer – the other three teams are horrendous.  It would not be a surprise to see the Colts win the South with a 6-10 record – posting wins only against their division rivals.  Obviously, it would be the first time that has ever happened, and likely the motivation for the NFL to change the rules for playoff seeding.  A 6-10 team should not host a playoff game.

Good news among the rubble of the heartbreaking loss is that Robert Mathis posted two sacks.  Mathis’ ability to get to the quarterback is a necessary ingredient for the Colts success, and his progress toward full health may be the piece of the puzzle that allows the Colts to overcome offensive wobbles (to be kind) to win the AFC South and earn whatever progress in the playoffs of which they might be capable.

Can Luck figure out these fourth season setback?  Luck is a really smart guy.  He plays trivia Monday nights in a downtown bar, and he is good at it.  He enjoys puzzles, and like all puzzle/trivia guys, the more difficult the puzzle, the greater sense of accomplishment when it’s finally solved.  Sometimes watching Luck play, it seems he enjoys the process of decoding the most difficult puzzle possible, and that puts the Colts in the position they were in with a 23-6 deficit.  At that point, the puzzle becomes winning, and Luck thrives.

That’s dime store psychology, but at this point we have no alternative than to cobble together a few facts and guessing at the rest – kind of similar to the way Luck currently reads defenses.

A question the Colts will soon answer in the affirmative is whether Luck’s fourth quarter heroics are worth the erratic play he exhibits at other times and the downright awful version of himself they tried to survive through the first three quarters last night.  The Colts will sign Luck to a huge extension that will likely make him the highest paid player in NFL history because the alternative is saying goodbye to a franchise QB..

Can the Colts bounce back quickly enough to compete well against the Broncos?  The Denver Broncos boast the top passing defense in the NFL, the third best run defense, lead the NFL in sacks with 29, have allowed the fewest yards from scrimmage, are second in passer rating allowed, and stand tied for second in takeaways.  They are the Carolina Panthers defense’s grown-up, badass brother.

What does all this mean for Chuck Pagano – the lame duck coach who rejected a one-year extension to bet on his ability to succeed for a fourth straight season and earn a bonanza – either from the Colts or some other time in need of a players coach?  The frustration level is rising by the week, and if the Colts can’t manage a win this Sunday, a 3-6 record will be a huge disappointment.  Still, I can’t see owner Jim Irsay deciding to fire Pagano midseason.  The results are rarely positive in the short term, and even if they are, an interim coach might be tough to replace if the Colts are successful.

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So what will happen/should happen?  You ride this out.  Wait until all the evidence is in – the entire schedule is played – and then make the significant decisions that will chart the future of this franchise.  Emotions are for children and have no place in the room where the leaders of a business are selected and courses charted.  Take a series of deep breaths, understand the ramifications of rash calls, and try to enjoy this roller coaster ride of a season, which is a little reminiscent of the 2001 season that brought Tony Dungy to Indy.

Indianapolis Colts – latest but not last chance to save season tonight in Carolina

by Kent Sterling

Ryan Grigson and Chuck Pagano are both fighting for their jobs tonight in Charlotte.

Ryan Grigson and Chuck Pagano are both fighting for their jobs tonight in Charlotte.

Winning solves problems; losing reveals them.

The Indianapolis Colts roll into Carolina for Monday Night Football on the precipice of the first three-game losing streak in the Ryan Grigson/Chuck Pagano era, but even with a loss the Colts will still lead the AFC South by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Houston Texans.

Being in the AFC South buys the Colts a little time to sort out the mess off what to this point has been on oddly chaotic season for a team that embraces order, but patience from the owner’s office might be lacking.

Pagano is on the ropes because of a variety of issues – too many turnovers, too few sacks, too many penalties, and an oddly defensive posture with the media.

Whether Grigson occupies a similarly tenuous position within the Colts organization is another in a series of very good questions.

The overarching question regarding the Colts is “What is wrong?”  Predictable follow ups include, “What can be done to correct the problems, who caused the problems, and who can fix them?”

Let’s take a stab at answering them –

What’s wrong?

The Colts run the ball well, but not enough.  They throw it, but not quickly enough.  The defense is better at stopping the run, but can’t get to the quarterback, so they are picked apart through the air.  The team MVP at this point is punter/kickoff guy Pat McAfee.  Andrew Luck holds on to the ball too long, and has an assortment of injuries – including three broken ribs (according to reports).  Wacky special teams decisions, and a poorly defended Hail Mary that resulted in a touchdown added to the growing dissatisfaction from fans.  There are more, but we have only so much space.

How can it be fixed?

It takes a commitment from every player, coach, and front office staffer to raise their level of effort and efficiency. That’s a BS answer that you might hear from one of Chuck Pagano’s podium sessions, but with all those issues, a little Joel Osteen-esque pablum isn’t going to cover the gaping holes that exist virtually everywhere.

We could demand that Trent Cole and Erik Walden get to the quarterback, that Luck heals, and that Frank Gore is given the ball with greater frequency, but that’s a lot to hope for.

Who caused the problem?

This season is being authored by the same brain trust that led the Colts to three straight 11-5 records and an additional step farther in the playoffs, so the question is whether brains broke or the totality of bad/sloppy drafts/free agent signings/play finally became too much for one franchise to bear.

Assessing blame is tough because all areas are interconnected.  Grigson whiffed on three straight first rounders (in 2015 impact), and signed aging veterans who obviously played their best football in years past.  He’s hit on a few (most of the 2012 Draft, Vontae Davis for a second round pick, and Henry Anderson in the third round are notable successes).

Pagano has adopted a defensive posture with the media, and his strategic choices have tended toward the erratic.  His legacy in Indianapolis, minus earning a Lombardi Trophy if somehow the Colts can resurrect their season, will forever be defined by the ridiculous fake punt against New England on a night when it seemed his Colts were equal to the task of matching the Patriots straight up.

Who can fix them?

It’s possible that the Colts can be fixed by the guys currently working at the Colts Complex on West 56th Street.  They didn’t all get dumb simultaneously.  Even if this season goes down the tubes, this might be an anomaly the like of the 2001 season in which the Colts went 6-10.  Of course, Jim Mora was canned after that debacle, but who knows what might have happened if he had returned?

Candidates for the gigs, should the snowball keep rolling downhill, would include the typical roster of candidates – John Gruden, Bill Cowher, Mike Holmgren, etc…  It’s hard to imagine Pagano being fired alone.  If he goes, it would seem logical for Grigson to go too, and he bought the groceries with which Pagano has been unable to brew a satisfactory stew.

If the Colts go after a big fish, that fish will likely demand control of the roster, and that might level Grigson out of his office.

Tonight is another chapter of what will either transform into a story of redemption, or devolve into an Shakespearean tragedy in which a plague is assign on the houses of both Pagano and Grigson.

Indiana Pacers fans – Be patient because future might be as bright as present is drab

by Kent Sterling

George Hill - Great hair, potentially great leader for a team that might just become great but isn't great right now.

George Hill – Great hair, potentially great leader for a team that might just become great but isn’t great right now.

For decades, Kansas City Royals fans awaited excellence with little evidence suggesting it might ever occur.

The Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns have never played in one of the 49 Super Bowls.

It’s been 107 years since Cubs fans experienced the afterglow of a championship won.

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The Royals are up 2-0 against the Mets in the current World Series which is galvanizing the attention of Kansas Citians, New Yorkers, and octogenarians, and the patience shown by Royals fans may pay off before the end of the weekend.

For Cubs, Lions, and Browns fans, the wait till next years are piling up like parking tickets for college students.

The Indiana Pacers are 0-2 after two nights of the 2015-2016 season and it is clear that the evolution to small ball that has followed the departures of big men David West and Roy Hibbert is not going to pay immediate dividends.

Watching the Pacers allow the Memphis Grizzlies to score 39 fourth quarter points on their way to handing the Pacers a 112-103 loss was not a lot of fun, and Pacers fans need to resign themselves to the fact that the Pacers strategic pivot will be more aircraft carrier than jet-ski.

Myles Turner showed flashes of the potential that has led NBA personnel guys to gush about him being a top five talent.  Monta Ellis appears as out of sync as a new guy who spent very little time during the offseason in Indy working out with his new teammates should.

The point isn’t to assess what is clearly a chunky unit with parts that have yet to mesh, but to preach the most loathsome word in sports fandom – patience.

I hate patience.  it reeks of management alibis and an effort to misdirect fans away from pointing derisively at a GM or coach and demanding better right the hell now.

With the Cubs from 2010-2014, ticket prices were outrageous in their disproportionality to the quality of baseball being played at Wrigley Field.  The Cubs had the third highest ticket prices in baseball and a bottom five team.  That’s bad business, and if fans had a hair on their collective ass, Wrigley would have been as empty in June as it was during those five Octobers.

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The Pacers are different.  Ticket prices are extremely reasonable, and Paul George is one of the top 10 two-way players in the NBA.  President Larry Bird keeps working to massage his roster and systems to create a competitive advantage.  I have no problem preaching patience with the Pacers because they appear to have a plan that may result in success.

Patience is an idiot’s choice when an organization appears to have no idea how to plot, scheme, and implement in a way has a chance to succeed.  The Pacers appear to have a forward thinking philosophy that will allow players the best chance to win, and fans the best chance to enjoy investing their emotions in that winning team.

So, I’ll take a deep breath, and look for signs of progress.  I encourage you to do the same.

Watch for these forward movements over the remainder of 2015 –

  • Five guys will emerge who appear to function well together.
  • Ellis will either find his rhythm here – or won’t. I think he will.
  • Paul George must embrace who he is rather than fill the role in which he has cast himself.
  • George Hill needs to be embraced as the unquestioned leader of the Pacers.  Show me a team with more than one leader and I’ll show you a team no leaders.
  • Myles Turner will evolve into a more consistent asset.

The alternative to those five points of progression coming to pass might be yet another central Indiana team in limbo facing a potential player mutiny.  Nobody wants to see that – because the path to success really isn’t that difficult to chart.

The process of making the sausage isn’t going to be pretty, but by the end of the season, it might taste sweet.

Are constant headaches and uncertainty for a coach worth the money or effort

by Kent Sterling

Tom Crean's stock was up and is now down. He future as IU's basketball coach will be determined by the behavior of immature and pampered adolescents. Think that's fun?

Tom Crean’s stock was up and is now down. He future as IU’s basketball coach will be determined by the behavior of immature and pampered adolescents. Think that’s fun?

I look at the mood swings of Chuck Pagano, the uncertainty surrounding Rick Pitino, and the constant din of criticism for Tom Crean, and I wonder whether being a coach is worth the money or sacrifice.

It’s a tough life, even for a secure coach with a pristine record of winning and compliance.

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The anxiety is endless, and the sacrifices massive.  Some moments appear to be fun, and the opportunity to help young men and women thrive in sports and life is unique, but the scales tip farther away from the good every time I talk to a coach or read about allegations against them.

Many say the best day for a coach is the day he is hired, and from there it’s all downhill until the end comes.

Local coaches are either in trouble, or enjoying unprecedented success in their roles.  I know they make a lot of cash, but would you swap spots in your life with any of these guys?

  • The Indiana Pacers are about to enjoy their 40th season in the NBA.  Until late last season, no one in that time had ever coached more than 328 games – the equivalent of four full seasons.  That Frank Vogel is the all-time leader in games coached for the Pacers speaks to the nomadic lives of NBA coaches.
  • After the Chicago Cubs finished the 2014 season with a record of 73-89, Cubs president Theo Epstein told the media that Rick Renteria would return as manager for a second season.  Weeks later, when Joe Madden became available, the Cubs pounced and Renteria was dispatched.
  • Chuck Pagano‘s job as coach of the Colts is hanging by a thread after three straight 11-5 seasons and advancing an additional step in the playoffs every year.  No one was sure he would survive Monday after losing Sunday afternoon 27-21 to the 2-4 Saints at Lucas Oil Stadium.  The Colts lead the AFC South, and still Pagano shows up for work each day wondering whether it might be his last.  Former NFL coach Rick Venturi is fond of saying that every NFL team is a three-game losing streak from chaos.  After losing to the Patriots and Saints, the Colts are a Monday Night Football loss at Carolina away from the first three-game losing streak in Pagano’s tenure.
  • When Brandon Miller abruptly left the Butler basketball program, Chris Holtmann was elevated to the position of interim head coach.  That “interim” piece of the puzzle meant Holtmann was the coach until somebody better was found – tomorrow, next week, or at the end of the season – unless through winning he proved he was the right guy for the gig.  If the Bulldogs failed to thrive under him, both he and his staff would have been fired.  They won, and Holtmann is as solidly in charge as anyone in that position can ever expect to be.

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  • In Bloomington, Tom Crean wisely negotiated a contract extension during a period of program resurgence that included a severely punitive buyout for Indiana University should he be fired.  That virtually eliminated the chance that wildly unpredictable waves in the ocean of college basketball would carry him away from Assembly Hall.  Smart guy.  As a result, IU has remained stalwart in their support of Crean despite two disappointing seasons for the Hoosiers on and off the court.  If not for the buyout, which dropped from a stratospheric $12 million to $7.5 million on July 1, 2015, Crean would likely be running a MAC or Patriot League program.  Instead, he has another season at the helm which brings with it a shot at redemption.
  • Just across the parking lot, Kevin Wilson’s back is against the wall as his fifth season may be one month from ending – if IU cannot win two of its final four games to become bowl eligible.  Wilson has attacked the virtually impossible calculus of winning at IU with passion and diligence but has yet to crack that bowl eligibility theorem that has perplexed five other coaches over the past 20 years with the exception of Bill Lynch who lucked into a solution once.  Wilson has two years left on his deal, which means it is very likely IU will either extend Wilson or can him.  How 18-23 year olds fight during the final two games will likely tell the tale
  • Matt Painter tried to follow up the success provided by a great recruiting class in 2007 by recruiting a group of superior athletes who lacked in the ability to play as a unit, and it almost cost him his job.  He recently switched strategies to recruit those who he felt would be enjoyable to coach – kids who fit the Purdue brand of player that Painter was himself.  The Boilermakers pulled a very striking about face, and are now talented enough to win the Big Ten and have the potential to compete for a National Championship.

The only tangible reward for the misery associated with coaching is the absolute certainty that a scoreboard provides.  In business, a narrative of winning can be concocted from the rubble of abject defeat, but in sport a 106-99 loss like that suffered last night by the Indiana Pacers in their season opener is a 106-99 loss.  Period.  End of story.

Is the clarity on the scoreboard worth the fickleness of the business?

Paying off a radio bet will render me a moronic Billy Idol/Pony Boy lookalike

by Kent Sterling

Imagine this BBQ wolfing moron plus 35 years. That's what I'm looking forward to in two hours.

Imagine this BBQ wolfing moron plus 35 years. That’s what I’m looking forward to in two hours.

When a talk radio host where I worked made some inane and ill-conceived on-air bet, I always forced them to follow thru.

It wasn’t fair to tease listeners and not pay off, so whatever the harebrained threat was, it was done.

If I refuse to pay a similar bet now that I’m a host, that would make me a hypocrite.

Hence, I will walk into Studio 2000 this morning at 10 a.m. and the stylist will bleach my hair white.  Better to look like an idiot for a few weeks than be a liar for a second, I guess.

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The bet was that the Colts would finish the 2015 regular season 13-3.  I’m usually quite prescient in predicting records, and I was oh so confident about this one.

How could the Colts not improve over the 11-5 records they have sported over the past three seasons?  Andrew Luck was a maturing superstar in the making, free agents were acquired to bolster damn near every area, and owner Jim Irsay laid down the gauntlet as he introduced first round draft pick Phillip Dorsett to the media, “In the Andrew Luck era, we would like to win at least two world championships.”

So I told my producer prior to the season, “When the Colts lose their fourth game, I’ll have my hair bleached white!”  As it came out of my mouth, I smirked for how clever I was to threaten something so idiotic but visual for a bet I would never have to pay.

The Colts are in the woeful AFC South – a division so putrid the Colts haven’t lost to one of their rivals since 2012.  Plus, its the AFC Souths turn to play against each of the four NFC South teams once each.  The Carolina Panthers pulled the rare trick of winning that division last season with a losing record.  How hard could it be to sweep those patsies?

That’s 10-0 before the Colts play the rest of their schedule – @Buffalo, vs. Jets, vs. New England, vs. Denver, @ Pittsburgh, and @Miami.  How could the Colts not at worst split those six games?

Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men…  The Colts have not only looked mostly putrid in their losses, they haven’t been world beaters during the wins.  If Jacksonville had converted one of three missed field goals, I would have had been forced into being an Edgar Winter wannabe a week ago and the Colts would be 2-5.

For the first time in many years, my prognostication for the Colts record has deviated wildly from reality, and the fourth loss of the season came this past Sunday as the Colts sleepwalked through a miserable first half at home against the lowly New Orleans Saints.  An improbable rally that would have forestalled my penance fell short, and so this morning I will sit in a chair for however long it takes for me to be transformed into a middle aged version of Pony Boy from “The Outsiders”.

Is that justice?  Nope, It’s radio.

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That’s the life of a sportstalk host who can’t keep his mouth shut (which would be a nutty skill for a radio host to embrace), the convenient skill to forget what he might have said during a moment of hubristic waxing, and lack of a producer who lets what I say flow unheard into one ear and out the other.

 

White-washed hair grows out, but the problems caused by the Colts swinging and missing with at least two straight first round picks and significant lapses in free agent assessment will persist and chart the course of the franchise for years to come.