Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price shows extreme ignorance in tirade as he lashes out at media

by Kent Sterling

Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price needs to know that the media are not his buddies. He owes them nothing, and they owe him the same.

Sometimes members of sports media err by believing they are buddies with the athletes, coaches, and managers involved in sports. Sometimes the managers, coaches, and athletes make that same mistake with the media.

Here is the relationship – the media watch, listen, and report as the eyes and ears of fans. If there is a curiosity, it will be satisfied – one way or another. There was a time when a reporter or radio host could sit on information, but the proliferation of social media has changed all of that.

A beat radio holds information, some guy with a smart phone tweets, and the beat guy is hammered by his editor or program director for being scooped.

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Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price turned back the clock to the 1990s when he lambasted the media in a five-minute, 34-second rant that included 77 F-bombs for not operating in the best interest of his team.

Here is an excerpt from the hissy fit thrown by Price as reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer. Price should know that the media’s job is not to protect information important to the Reds from the public:

“I don’t get it. It’s, you know, look, I don’t need you guys to be fans of the Reds, I just need to know if there’s something we want to keep here, it stays here. We don’t need to know that Tucker Barnhart’s in the f****** airport when we haven’t spoken to Kyle Skipworth. I think we owe that f******* kid the right to be called and told that he’s going to be sent down as opposed to reading that Tucker Barnhart is on his way from Louisville. I just… I don’t get it. I don’t get why it’s got to be this way. Has it always been this way where we just tell f****** everybody everything? So every f****** opponent we have has to know exactly what we have. Which f****** relievers are available, which guys are here and which guys aren’t here, when they can play, and what they can do. It’s nobody’s f****** business. It’s certainly not the opponent’s business. We have to deal with this f****** b*******.

“I like to talk — and I have spoken as candidly as I can with you people, if that’s not good enough, I won’t say a f******thing. I’ll go, ‘yes sir, no sir.’ And I can do that. But f***, I’ve been as candid as I can f****** be about this team and our players, and we’ve got to deal with this s***, every f****** team that we f****** play has to know every f****** guy that’s here and what they can and can’t do? F*** me. It’s a f****** disgrace. I’m f****** sick of this s***. It’s f****** hard enough to f****** win here to have f****** every f****** opponent know exactly what the f*** we bring to the table every day. It’s f****** horse****. I don’t like it. It’s what I’m saying. To make it very clear, I don’t like the way that this s***’s going — at all. I don’t like it. I don’t think you guys need to know everything. And I certainly don’t think you need to see something and tweet it out there and make it a f****** world event. How the f*** do we benefit from them knowing we don’t have Devin Mesoraco? How do we benefit from that? They benefit from it. I just want to know how we benefit from these f****** people know we don’t have a player here. Can you answer that? How is that good for the Reds?”

The answer is that the media is not employed by the Reds, and should never concern itself with whether what they share is “good for the Reds.” Price didn’t inform the player on his way to the minors that Tucker Barnhart was on his way to replace him with the Reds. That’s on him.

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Back in the day, the media could sit on information as a favor that could be banked. There were a couple of beat writers, and that was it. Easy to control two reporters. Today, the media is everywhere. Price needs to understand exactly who he’s dealing with, and what they are employed to do.

Indiana sports – Who’ll be gone and who’s coming back a year from now (Crean, Watson, Wilson, Miller, Hibbert, Grigson, Hazell)

by Kent Sterling

Tom Crean will be back for next season and likely beyond, unless IU hits full throttle reverse for 2015-2016.

Working in and around sports is not easy, and keeping the cash flowing through tough times is even more difficult.

Below are the seven coaches/athletes whose future is the cloudiest as we enter the time of year without meaningful games and the odds each will survive in their positions through the next 12 months:

CJ Watson (off the board) – This one is easy. Pacers president Larry Bird basically said that Watson will not return to the Pacers. That makes him a goner.

Roy Hibbert (2-1) – Last week, Bird and Frank Vogel both voiced their desire to play smaller and faster next season. That was correctly perceived as a shot at 7’2″ center Roy Hibbert. Hibbert has a player option for $15.5 million for next season, and the Pacers would undoubtedly love for him to opt out.

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If Hibbert chooses to stick around to cash out, the Pacers may play faster and the result will be a disgruntled big fella who tends to be a little sensitive about that kind of thing.

Bird was especially outspoken in critiquing Hibbert’s contribution to the Pacers, “We assume he’s going to be back and if he comes back, we’re probably going to play another style, and I can’t guarantee him anything. He’s going to have to earn it.”

Unless he values happiness over $15.5 million in cash, he’ll be back – at least until the trade deadline. There is virtually no chance he’s here beyond 2015-2016.

Kevin Wilson (4-1) – Entering year five, Wilson’s leadership at Indiana has brought improvement, but what is the ceiling for the Hoosiers under Wilson? If it’s an occasional bowl berth, Wilson needs to put Indiana in a bowl this season.

Last year’s step back could be attributed to the injuries of quarterback Nate Sudfeld and running back Tevin Coleman, but at some point the well of excuses may run dry if Indiana doesn’t get over the hump to earn a bowl selection.

If Indiana doesn’t take a step forward this year, the noise calling for Wilson to be replaced will rise a couple of decibels.

Tom Crean (5-1) – Under duress is a nice way to put the pressure under which Crean will operate in 2016. Indiana appears to be entrenched in a cycle of mediocrity, with teams who routinely do not measure up to expectations of either fans or the often cited top-five or top ten program assignation the Hoosiers point to with pride.

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A year ago, ESPN listed the top 50 college basketball coaches as named by a panel of “experts”. Crean was not on it. The next hire will be the biggest of athletic director Fred Glass’s tenure. The extension awarded Crean with a lofty buyout has been widely criticized, and will count against Glass should the next hire be a bust.

No IU AD can survive a bad hire for the basketball program. Until Glass is convinced a potential great hire is available and eager, allowing Crean’s buyout to fall year after year is the smart play, and Glass is a smart guy.

Regardless of Thomas Bryant heading to Bloomington or Yogi Ferrell’s decision to stay that will be announced Saturday (can you imagine him leaving with a possibility that he won’t be drafted at all?), interest in IU Basketball continues to ebb away from its historical passionate level to malaise. At some point, Glass may need to make a move before he is ready because Crean’s ill fit as the basketball coach becomes more apparent with each season.

Crean’s buyout is $12M through June 30th, $7M the following year, and $4M the year beyond that are likely to keep Crean around unless there is a complete collapse.

Darrell Hazell (8-1) – Purdue football has been disappointing since the retirement of Joe Tiller, and Hazell follows Danny Hope as those trying lure enough talent to West Lafayette to recapture the magic of Bob Griese, Len Dawson, Mike Phipps, and Drew Brees led teams.

Hazell won a single game his first year and another three last year. The clock is ticking. The third year is a little too early for a football coach to be sent packing – even if he is terrible. Hazell is an unknown right now, and that should be enough to allow for a fourth year regardless of the outcome of the 2015 season.

Brandon Miller (10-1) – The mysterious disappearance of Brandon Miller as Butler basketball’s coach remains vexing, and while we hope that the challenges that caused his departure, his coaching career has hit a wall it may not be able to crash thru or climb.

The 10-1 odds reflect the chance he ever returns to be a full time head coach.

Ryan Grigson (20-1) – Expectations are going to be higher than ever for the Indianapolis Colts, and if they fall short fans are going to start targeting Grigson as the architect of an Andrew Luck & Company franchise that can’t surround the best young QB in the NFL with enough talent to be a champion.

Drafting Bjoern Werner and dealing the first rounder in 2014 for underachieving running back Trent Richardson are two anchors that may sink Grigson.

Grigson’s job is very safe, unless the Colts hit a hard reverse, but that’s nearly inconceivable given the Colts position in the AFC South and a schedule that ushers in the very mediocre NFC South as mandatory opponents.

ESPN’s Britt McHenry emotionlessly rips into tow yard clerk in video – suspended for one week; fired from my TV

by Kent Sterling

The best of us make people smile when the worst happens. Through the release of a video at a tow yard, we learned ESPN’s Britt McHenry is not among the best of us.

Don’t start with this “We all have our moments” crap in defending ESPN’s Britt McHenry. Some of us have vented frustrations in stressful times, but what Britt McHenry is shown doing in a video to a tow yard clerk is unforgivably mean because it was executed with such heartless indifference.

Everyone is nice when it’s convenient or prudent. Our character is defined by who we are when things don’t go our way. We don’t see McHenry at her worst on the video – we see her unvarnished, unprettified, and unpleasant.

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None of us is perfect, and I have had moments of anger when presented with indifferent customer service, but to insult the weight, teeth, and intellect of a woman who is likely a minimum wage clerk showed a viciousness I cannot see past.

McHenry’s apology on Twitter reads, “In an intense and stressful moment, I allowed my emotions to get the best of me and said some insulting and regrettable things. As frustrated as I was, I should always choose to be respectful and take the high road. I am so sorry for my actions and will learn from this mistake.”

Watch this video and tell me if McHenry looks intense or stressed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv-O9ZhKX1M

McHenry appears quite comfortable asserting her education, fitness, and beauty as points of superiority to the unshown lady in the booth. This seems like business as usual for McHenry, not a moment where she lost her mind.

Even more distressing is McHenry’s use of the word “mistake” to describe her relentlessly cruel efforts to demean the clerk. Accidentally cutting in line is a mistake. Leaving a store with a piece of candy you forgot to pay for is a mistake. Oversleeping is a mistake. Using a string of petty insults to try to hurt the feelings of a tow yard clerk is not a mistake; it reveals McHenry’s character.

She says she should “take the high road” regardless of her frustration level. I’m not sure McHenry will be able to find it. The high road is where people pay compliments to one another to lift spirits, not attack the physical and intellectual weaknesses of those who might be viewed as lacking those qualities.

The lesson McHenry will learn from this ridiculous episode will be to behave like she is always being videotaped. The real lesson is one McHenry should have learned long ago – being nice is the least we owe one another.

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Our energy should be spent trying to make others feel good about themselves, not posture and preen as we assert our majesty over those we mistakenly view as less gifted.

Bullying doesn’t stop in grade school. It continues if we allow it. What McHenry is shown doing in the video is a miserable and perfect example of verbally bullying someone who earns a living – or partial living – taking money from people after their cars are towed. This lady has seen a lot of people at their worst. Whatever she is paid, it isn’t enough.

Television anchors and reporters – especially at the ESPN level – are paid for their ability to look good and read well, but the key to their success is to be a welcome presence in the living rooms of viewers. They need to be likable. McHenry showed herself in the video as repellent – someone I wouldn’t invite into my home if she rang my doorbell.

She was suspended for a week by management at ESPN. Maybe she deserves a chance to atone for her heartless and cruel attack, but my choice will be to turn to another sports network when she shows up in my living room because I don’t want ugliness – even when wrapped in a pretty package – in my home.

Indiana Pacers squander playoff chance; questions about Roy Hibbert, David West, and NBA Draft abound

by Kent Sterling

The Pacers work for 2014-2015 is over, but Pacers President Larry Bird is just getting started.

It’s odd how quickly the season transitions to the offseason after that final disappointing game, and last night’s game in Memphis against the Grizzlies certainly qualifies as disappointing.

Making the playoffs had been a long shot for months as injuries were a major issue throughout the 2015-2016 season, and finally health and solid basketball returned just in time to allow for a run that brought the Pacers to the verge of getting over the hump last night during the final game of the 2014-2015 season.

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Despite Memphis playing without major contributors Mike Conley and Tony Allen, the Pacers didn’t have enough in the tank after the previous night’s double overtime win against the Washington Wizards, and the Pacers lost a 95-83 snoozer they were never in during a long second half.

An opportunity lost leaves fans and team personnel wondering just what the future holds. Questions abound, and there are no easy answers.

David West enjoys a player option for next season that he can use to enter free agency or remain with the Pacers at a price of $12.6 million. Minus an odd first year (2011-2012) with the Pacers where his offensive play cratered, West’s productivity has declined every year since 2009 from 21 points per game to 19 to 18.9 to 17.1 to 14 to 11.7. Not surprisingly, West’s minutes have declined as well.

That’s the risk of signing an aging (soon to be 35) player that occasionally flashes his former greatness to an expensive deal. When productivity drops significantly below investment, teams suffer, and West is on the precipice of becoming that kind of burden.

Player options can be dangerous because they give the power over the franchise’s future to the player. If West decides he wants to play for the Pacers next season, they are on the hook for the $12.6M. His market value is nowhere near that, so why would he choose to play for less at the tail end of his career?

West has earned $75,668,418 through last night, but after next season his cash flow will decrease by roughly $12.6M, so striking while the iron is hot is the smart play. Another year of eroding skills might be on the docket.

Roy Hibbert is six years West’s junior, but his act has grown tired in Indianapolis. Despite a statistical rebound year in per 36 minutes productivity (impossible to believe until seeing it with my own eyes at basketball-reference.com), it’s become clear that playing with a true center is no longer a valid strategy for the Pacers with the Miami Heat no longer the beasts of the East.

The player option for Hibbert is even more stupefying than West’s – $15.5M is a lot of cash for an immobile player who has a difficult time staying on his feet. Through most of the contract, Bird’s roll of the dice that Hibbert could develop into a Bill Cartwright-esque presence in the middle of a contender seemed reasonable. After six seasons, the thought of Hibbert anchoring a championship contending team is silly.]

Still, Hibbert now gets to decide whether he will trigger a player option to keep him in Indy for a seventh season. His value is roughly half the value of his ticket, so he has become the shiny red car that validates a middle aged man’s virility, but loses half its value after being driven off the lot.

Maybe there is a mentally unstable general manager or owner among the other 29 NBA teams who would provide value back for Hibbert in order to acquire his contract. The 2016 free agent class should feature many exceptional talents, so it might not be so silly to grab Big Roy (or at least his contract) after all.

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That begs the question of whether the Pacers might not be better off with Hibbert and West next season, so they potentially have $60-$70 million under a salary cap likely to explode in the 2016 offseason. One more round-up for the Pacers as currently built before re-plating around George Hill and Paul George, or deal those contracts to build immediately is the choice ahead of Bird.

Bird does not lack patience, so it would not be a surprise to see him stand pat.

Pacers fans also have a draft to look forward to, and while fans and everyone associated with the team would rather be in the playoffs, sliding into the lottery provides hope that a slightly more talented haul might be in store by popping into the 11th spot (because they tied with 38-44 records, Utah and the Pacers will have to arm wrestle for the 11th selection – not really, there will be a coin flip).

Whether the Pacers are 11th or 12th, the chances of moving into the top three when the lottery is held are less than 3%, but with the 11th or 12th pick, the Pacers can likely grab a young big man who might become an upgrade after a season of grooming under Hibbert and West.

Jakob Poeltl is a seven-footer from Utah. Myles Turner is 6’11” and athletic as hell. Frank Kaminsky is a seven-footer who was the college player of the year. Trey Lyles, Kevon Looney, and Bobby Portis are candidates too.

While the Pacers would rather still be playing, if the goal is a championship, losing last night might not be the worst result. The decisions made during the next 16 months will be much more important than the result of a first round series against Atlanta.

Exciting times off the floor, even if the on-court fun is over.

Indiana Basketball – Why is Yogi Ferrell turning announcement to return into major production?

by Kent Sterling

Hard to imagine Yogi Ferrell will announce anything but the patently obvious decision to stay at Indiana for his senior season at Ruth’s Chris Steak House a week from Saturday.

Does anyone really think that Indiana point guard Yogi Ferrell is going to forego his senior season to enter the NBA Draft? For those awaiting word, it will come at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse on the north side of Indianapolis Saturday, April 25th.

I have yet to find a mock draft or word from an NBA executive that provides any substantial evidence that Ferrell would be taken inside the top 40 of the June draft, and while being a first rounder is not the point of demarkation it used to be because so many teams are giving second rounders guaranteed money, outside the top 40-to-undrafted is an assessment that would seem to remove all doubt as to what Ferrell will decide.

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Here are the current projections of Ferrell’s draft status, according to the most reliable mock drafts (if there could ever be such a thing):

41st Draft Express
46th CBS Sports
83rd (23 spots outside the end of the draft) Chad Ford of ESPN
undrafted NBADraft.net
undrafted in 2015/#50 in 2016 walterfootball.com

So what is the need for this formal announcement?

I’m not going to wrestle Kate Upton from her horse, talk her out of her armor, and marry her, but I’m not going to invite people to an event to announce at the Nickel Plate Restaurant in Fishers that I am opting out of a romantic liaison I have no chance of participating in.

My nephew is going to the University of Iowa in the Fall, but he saw no need to sit at a table with a bunch of hats to announce his decision despite it being just as big a deal for our family as the decision of a highly touted recruit selecting his school is for his or her’s.

Certainly, Ferrell has a better chance of playing in the NBA than I have to spend any time with Upton (outside of my brief run in with her at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis when she sneered at me for already being in an elevator she wanted to occupy alone with her security team), but there seems to be no chance that he is going to get the affirmation needed to believe he will be drafted by an NBA team.

Where NBA people currently see him is not what most need to hear in order to pull the trigger on prematurely beginning an NBA career, and with a fourth year as the unquestioned leader of the Hoosiers, there is a chance to make a jump forward for the 2016 draft.

The issue isn’t the assessment of Yogi as a player, but the assumed need for some kind of event to announce what is already widely assumed. The need to announce publicly what is already widely known is a bizarre choice emblematic of the self-importance so many young people embrace.

This wild over-estimation of the importance of decisions made by a young man and his family is driven by a couple of factors. The media is guilty for paying rapt attention to where a teenager decides to go to college – an almost entirely meaningless moment for all but the family of the kid. Families who build their lives around the schedule of a child-athlete and treat every game as a monumental event are just as nuts/guilty of inflating a kid’s self-image beyond all reason.

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The unholy confluence of these dynamics causes the existence of the type of event Ferrell and his family will hold a week from Saturday.

Even if the rationale for holding the event is to raise money for a foundation devoted to providing opportunities for young athletes of all abilities, its purpose reflects our strange preoccupation with decisions made by athletes, and reflects a self-immersion that operates outside the parameters of logic and reason.

If Ferrell was truly on the fence as to whether he would return to IU, news regarding the decision would be interesting to IU fans, and to me too. Without Ferrell as a point guard, Indiana would be in trouble for 2015-2016. Regardless of the illogic of doing so, fans care beyond all reason, and I’m guilty of that too.

When Cody Zeller sat in the gym at Washington High School to announce whether he would attend North Carolina, Butler, or IU, I worked hard to find out what the decision was beforehand. My interest wasn’t simply a mercenary effort to scoop others. It was because my curiosity was beyond manic. I wanted badly to know where the hell a teenager wanted to spend a couple of years in college. Silly.

This is different because if the NBA experts to whom I’ve spoken and heard from in the media are to be believed, it makes no sense for Ferrell to leave Indiana. My curiosity is sated.

There is no news here because the answer is already obvious.

The only news would be an explanation as to why the event exists at all – other than to get a great steak.

Pacers must capitalize on good fortune tonight; Lawrence Phillips kills cellmate in latest slip; Cubs slide into first place

by Kent Sterling

The Bulls gave George Hill reason to smile last night as they presented control of their own destiny to his Pacers.

The Chicago Bulls hammered the Brooklyn Nets 113-86 last night to help the Indiana Pacers gain control of their own playoff fortunes. A win tonight against the Washington Wizards couple with another tomorrow at Memphis, and the Pacers are in.

After winning five straight, the Pacers appear to be rolling, but they have shown a proclivity toward malaise once in a comfortable position. Just over a month ago, the Pacers had won 13-of-15 and appeared to be cruising toward the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference when energy left the roster and suddenly the Blue and Gold lost 9-of-11.

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They rebounded from the brink of elimination with their current five-game winning streak that has them two competent performances from earning an eight seed in the wide open East where every single playoff team has gone either 6-4 or 7-3 in their last 10 games.

A betting man would never lay money on a team up and down enough to earn a starter’s prescription of Lithium because it seems they routinely defy expectations. Washington is locked in as the five seed, so they are playing for pride alone, so this is the kind of game the Pacers have shown an inability to win. That is exactly why I believe the Pacers win tonight and then again tomorrow in Memphis.

Do the Pacers get in? Yep, and with Paul George regaining his health game by game, I think the Pacers will find a way past the Atlanta Hawks, who are now forced to play the rest of the season without defensive stopper Thabo Sefolosha.

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If this guy occupies the lower bunk in your cell, good luck closing your eyes at lights out.

When I was in high school, I signed up for the square dance club because I assumed I would get a chance to dance with girls in a low stress environment where my lack of rhythm would not be exposed due to the rigidity of the form. The most stressful part of the weekly get togethers was when the guys and girls lined up to pair off.

All the guys counted where they stood in line, and then tried to figure out who the corresponding girl was. Then jockeying began. All the guys tried to line up with the girl they were dating, or at least avoid those in whom they had no interest.

And that is how I imagine prison.

Whether you survive your stay in a government-run high-security establishment depends entirely on the level of psychosis from which your randomly assigned celly suffers.

If you went to prison and were paired with former Nebraska and St. Louis Rams running back Lawrence Phillips, that would be the equivalent of being mated in square dance club with Dottie Charmaine – the acne scarred and rotund sophomore who has been thrice suspended from school for smoking in the front row of remedial English class.

Phillips is suspected of murdering his cellmate at the rough and tumble Kern Valley Prison in Central California. He’s serving a soon-to-be much longer stretch for driving his car into three teenagers at a pickup football game in 2006 and twice choking his then-girlfriend in 2005.

“Inmate Sterling, meet inmate Phillips. Have fun boys!” would not be the kind of welcome to prison life that would allow restful sleep.

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Jorge Soler whacked two bombs last night in another Cubs win.

The Chicago Cubs are 4-2 on the young 2015 season and all alone in first place in the National League Central after winning two games they undoubtedly would have lost in 2010-2014. Late inning heroics from Dexter Fowler and Arismendy Alcantara, along with a virtually flawless bullpen have been the difference.

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It’s not time to print playoff tickets, but there is a different aura around this team than has been seen on the northside of Chicago in several years. Even in 2008 – the last time the Cubs went to the playoffs – there was a fool’s gold quality to that team that Joe Maddon that seems absent from this group.

When Kris Bryant reports to Chicago, this team could get good. Reasonably solid work from the starting rotation might be all the Cubs need to turn ahead the clock for playoff worthy baseball at Wrigley Field to 2015.

Emmis Indy scores with WIBC’s cancellation of Rush Limbaugh

by Kent Sterling

Rush Limbaugh is out at WIBC, and the result will be an easier to market product that will make more money. Smart move.

It was the right thing to do today, as it would have been the right thing to do 10 years ago. WIBC has decided to live without the modest ratings boost provided by the expensive partnership with the formerly monolithic ratings booster Rush Limbaugh.

When WIBC signed the deal to add Limbaugh to the lineup, it was a controversial move that altered the perception of WIBC as the friendly neighbor “Voice of Indiana.”

From the day Rush signed on, April 11, 1993, WIBC fought the massive image of Limbaugh as an ultra-conservative pundit with a presentation of news and issues of local interest. Limbaugh won that branding war.

If anything, Rush was too good at his job as his brand dominated the other hosts on the station as well as the brand of the station itself. He was (and is) so polarizing that many simply refused to listen to the entire station as a result of his three hour show.

The bigger problem was that the Rush fans that came to hear the gospel according to “El Rushbo” tended to listen only to Rush.

Before Rush came from WNDE to WIBC, the morning and afternoon drive ratings on WIBC were quite good and middays ate it – the graph of which would look like a hammock. After Rush came to WIBC, the ratings in the morning and afternoon dropped substantially, and 12p-3p rose like Devil’s Tower.

Clients bailed, Indianapolis revolted, and Jeff Smulyan decided that the right-wingedness of WIBC could only be altered by buying the station, so that is what he did.

The vitriolic diatribes of Stan Solomon (a local super ultra reactionary host that was hired to build a conservative wall from 12p-7p) were silenced, but Rush’s ratings were a little too juicy to dispatch without some serious debate. And so he stayed and stayed and stayed.

Finally, Emmis announced this morning that Rush would be gone in early July. The assumed reasons – he was expensive, difficult to monetize, impossible to control, and with a reasonably new strategy of programming toward conservatives around the clock, the damage of booting the iconic Limbaugh could be mitigated.

This change doesn’t signal an end to conservative talk on WIBC – just nationally syndicated talk during prime (M-F 6a-7p). Emmis can hire a local host for 1/3 Limbaugh’s cost, keep all the inventory, sell endorsements, and manage the talent to create some stationality among all the hosts.

It takes guts to willfully end a relationship with a host of 22 years standing – local or national – and the move is being unjustly criticized for a variety of reasons. None of them are valid.

As with all reasonable business decisions, the motivation is revenue generation. Management either needs to make more money or cut expenses to move the needle further into the black, and this change will accommodate both. That doesn’t make it a good decision; it makes it a great decision.

Rush has always been a clunky fit on heritage news/talks stations. Those that never heard the siren song of massive ratings increases for a three-hour period thrived. They were unwilling to sacrifice inventory (commercial time), cash, and a singular branding message for a difficult to convert audience. Those that jumped at the quick gain foundered in dayparts outside Rush. They spent countless hours in meetings trying to find a way to make everything sound more like Rush. None of them worked.

Emmis did the right thing today, and it had nothing to do with politics. This was a business decision, and the right one.

Indiana Pacers win again! Told you months ago the Pacers would qualify and thrive

by Kent Sterling

The Indiana Pacers are undefeated in the alternative Flo-Jo jerseys, and also with PG-13 in the lineup. Will both be enough for the Pacers to earn a spot in the postseason tournament?

I’m all in – not only for the Indiana Pacers to earn a spot in the NBA Playoff, but to raise hell once they get there.

With seven games left, it was assumed by most that the Indiana Pacers would need to sweep those games in order to secure a spot in the NBA Playoffs.

Five games into that seven game run, the Pacers have swept all five and are now tied with the Brooklyn Nets for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Conference.

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The tie goes to the Nets because they beat the Pacers two of the three times the teams faced each other head-to-head. The Pacers are one game behind the Celtics, but because they lost three-of-four against the Celtics, the Pacers must finish one game ahead of Boston to edge ahead of them too.

If all three teams finish the season with the same record, the tie will be broken by a look at the results of the games the three teams played against the other two. Boston leads at 6-2. Brooklyn is 5-2. The Pacers are 2-5.

So, the Pacers have put themselves in a position where they almost certainly must sweep the last two games of the regular season against the Washington Wizards at home Tuesday, and in Memphis for Wednesday’s regular season finale.

Brooklyn closes its season at home tonight against the Bulls and Wednesday against the woeful Orlando Magic. Boston hosts Toronto tomorrow and travels to Milwaukee Wednesday.

One of the few pieces of good news is that Toronto and Chicago are both tied, and thus are playing for something. Milwaukee has locked up the #6 seed in the East, and will have exactly nothing at stake Wednesday night against the Celtics.

Orlando will only be playing for pride Wednesday night in Brooklyn.

As for the Pacers opponents, the Wizards are two games behind the Bulls and Raptors. Due to vagaries of the NBA tiebreaker policy, the Wizards cannot catch the Raptors, but could get to Chicago if they win out and the Bulls lose their last two. That would allow the Wizards to swap spots with the Bulls in the 4th seed, which would provide them home court advantage in a first round series against the Bulls.

That means the Pacers will likely get the Wizards’ best shot tomorrow and the Bulls will do what they can to post a win against the Nets.

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Math makes my brain hurt, so calculating the exact probabilities of the teams that will occupy the bottom rungs of the Eastern Conference playoff teams is not forthcoming – especially when we will know for certain what will happen in roughly 60 hours.

One thing for sure is the Pacers could be a beast of an opponent for the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, if the they can get there. Paul Milsap hasn’t played since April 4th because of a dinged shoulder, and Thabo Sefolosha is out for the season with a broken fibula.

While Milsap is expected to be ready for the playoffs, the Pacers are as healthy as they have been all season. Paul George is still on a pitch count (15 minutes maximum), but the longer the Pacers stick around, the better George is likely to respond to extended minutes.

The Pacers have eliminated the Hawks from the postseason during both of the last two seasons, and with a nearly healthy George could arguably be seen as a better team as either of the teams that sent Atlanta into their long dirt nap.

C.J. Miles and Rodney Stuckey have been stellar when healthy this season as free agent acquisitions, and Solomon Hill has improved bit by bit throughout the season.

The toughest part for the Pacers to succeed in the playoff may just be getting there, and if they do, the question may become whether they will wear the FloJo jerseys – in which the Pacers are undefeated this season.

(Kent hosts the Kent Sterling show afternoons from 3p-6p on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis.)

Lauren Hill dies after learning how to live and then teaching the rest of us

by Kent Sterling

Lauren Hill taught us how to live, but for how many of us will the lesson stick?

Nothing like a loudly ticking clock to make people recognize every second is precious. Most of us careen through our lives – in denial that our own clocks are ticking toward that moment when what will define us is the way we lived – past tense, not what we plan or what the future might hold.

Lauren Hill, a teenager from Lawrenceburg, Indiana, figured it all out far too young as she was diagnosed with untreatable brain cancer 15 months ago. She died this morning leaving behind the wisdom she gathered under that duress as well as the money she raised for cancer research.

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We dread cancer, and loathe it. But one thing it does is expose us to the bravery of those forced to embrace today because tomorrow is everything but guaranteed. The promise of another day becomes a craving for moments of joyous love in the present. The desire to relax, nap, and take it easy evolves instantly into hard work to build a legacy that will last far beyond the expiration of our physical beings cannot wait for a convenient beginning.

Lauren lit the way for us in how to make 15 months count.

Lauren scored the first points of the 2014-2015 college basketball season left handed because her cancer robbed her right side of the strength to make a layup with her previously stronger hand, and with that basket she affirmed that cancer could not take her dream and her life. And rather than wallowing in self pity, she raised more than a million dollars for cancer research because the dream of helping someone like her live a longer and better life became her driving motivation.

“Life is precious. Every moment you get with someone is a moment that’s blessed, really blessed,” Lauren said trying to teach us that today is what’s important. She was committed to stuff as many of the hard earned lessons brain cancer brought her into our consciousness.

We will pause this morning, acknowledge Lauren for a few moments, mourn for her family, and then climb into a car where we will swear and scream at the idiot who cuts us off while texting – or worse, we will be the texter who endangers others and is sworn at.

Old habits die even harder than Lauren did, and the oldest of human habits is to live like our expiration will never come, like we will have another 10,000 days to laugh, cry, learn, and hug. It’s hard to embrace the value of anything when you believe there are 10,000 of them left.

The least lucky of us will have a doctors appointment today when a diagnosis will be shared, prompting a journey similar to Lauren’s where the end comes too soon, but their journeys will light the way for those smart enough to embrace life as a moment by moment opportunity to make a difference and to welcome those who can make a difference for you.

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It’s not enough to give and give and give. That’s a one way street that selfishly excludes others from being able to give to you. Saying thank you as a recognition of the generosity of others is every bit as critical as providing reasons for others to thank you. Generosity and gratitude should be exercised in equal measure.

After that game when Lauren achieved her dream of playing college basketball, Lauren said, “Everything that happened today was amazing. I’m truly happy, it’s a really good day.”

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if each of us embraced today’s potential with the same awe as her dream was realized?

(Kent hosts the Kent Sterling show afternoons from 3p-6p on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis.)

Indiana Pacers – Chris Copeland’s stabbing reminds us of three key life lessons he and others at 1 Oak ignored

by Kent Sterling

1 Oak was the site of the Chris Copeland stabbing, and the lessons that were learned by Cope, his fiancee, and two rivals.

My Dad always said, “Nothing good happens after midnight.” He was wrong. Lots of good things happen after midnight. The correct saying is “A lot of bad things happen after midnight.”

Anyone who has been in a bar after midnight knows that arguments escalate into fights a hell of a lot more often after midnight than before.

Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland was stabbed outside a club in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan just before 4 a.m. yesterday morning, proving that tempers run shorts late, and weapons become exponentially more present the later the night goes.

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Copeland’s companion was Katrine Saltara, his former fiancee. The fracas that ended with Copeland and Saltara suffering knife wounds reportedly began with an argument between those two. You can probably guess the second life lesson Copeland ignored is once an engagement is broken, any further companionship is unwise.

The hurt of a broken engagement never fully evaporate for most, and that angst combined with late night revelry is going to cause issues.

Thabo Sefolosha and Pero Antić of the Atlanta Hawks were arrested for obstructing a police investigation, and Sefolosha was also charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. After he allegedly shoved and swung at a cop, it reportedly took six to place him in handcuffs.

In a small town, the police can be reasoned with – a dialogue can be established. In a city like New York or Chicago, that courtesy can never be expected. Cops demand, people respond. When that doesn’t happen, things get rough for the citizenry.

The police have seen enough mayhem to know that control of a situation must be immediately established, and that means unquestioned obedience from the curious throng that gathers around violent crime scenes.

Professional athletes who are very used to getting their own way do not take to being treated with the same indifference as the rabble. That’s why you often hear reports of athletes saying this to cops, “Don’t you know who I am? I’m a (team name here).”

Here’s a sidebar lesson for the famous from an old quote by actor Gregory Peck, “If you have to tell them who you are, you’re not.”

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For clarity sake – here are the three lessons:

#1 – With every passing minute after midnight, the chances of someone in a bar doing something stupid and dangerous multiply exponentially. This rule doesn’t imply that you are a threat to public safety after midnight, but that others who overindulge may cause you harm regardless of your disposition.

It’s kind of like driving around at 2 a.m. Just because one in every two cars at that time is being piloted by an impaired driver doesn’t mean that you are drunk – just that you better keep your head on a swivel because others are.

#2 – When a relationship is ended, the best strategy is to avoid contact with that person forever. Sure, a residual friendship remains but the hurt caused by the rejection represented by a wedding cancelled will always trump it in the end.

The pain cannot be erased, and should never be assumed to have healed.

The unholy confluence of violating these two rules has Copeland lying in an intensive care unit this morning.

#3 – Regardless of your position in life, or the high esteem with which you hold yourself, listen to the police and obey their commands to the letter. You might not understand why they want you to do something, but trust they are trying to keep people safe and respond likewise. Or if you can’t work up the requisite amount of respect to march to their instructions without question, understand they will arrest you if you don’t.

Copeland, Saltara, Sefolosha, and Antić learned their lessons the hard way. You don’t have to.

(Kent hosts the Kent Sterling show afternoons from 3p-6p on CBS Sports 1430 in Indianapolis.)