96th Indy 500 Review

The Indy 500 is the largest single-day event event in the world...and, in spite of my blood flowing with gold and black hues, it's my favorite one.

My Dad and my Grandpas all served in the military...I wasn't brave enough to make that decision.  But Indy's pre-race Memorial Day activities always remind me how I'm standing on the shoulders of these, and other great men just by living my life in our great country.  If you've never been to IMS for a race, I'm sorry you haven't, but TV doesn't capture the event like being there. From patriotic songs, to taps, to "Back Home Again in Indiana" to when the flag finally drops, it's a day that strikes every chord for me.

Yesterday though, a surprise completely shocked and moved me just prior to the race.

Back Home

As it is each year, taps was played prior to the race.  But, toward the end of simple and moving tune, Dan Wheldon's car that won the race one year ago pulled slowly out of the pits for a lap. I looked around at my family and friends and all were visibly moved.  The car continued slowly around the track as "Back Home Again" played...and I'm sure most in the stands, like me, had no clue that the bright orange and white machine was going to soon pass by.

It was a bit ghastly, but at the same time, it was perfect...the car was the same, but the helmet in the cockpit had a waving British flag to pay tribute to the two-time champ who died in a crash at the end of last season.

Then came the race.

Right away, in our Row 1 seats in the SW Vista, we could tell the new chassis had changed the dynamics of the race. When the green flag dropped, the cars didn't have quite the speed coming into one as they used to.  Granted, they were still fast, but not as fast. I'd estimate the cars were entering one about 10 or 15 MPH slower than before...but the increased downforce coupled withe the slower speeds allowed cars and drivers to come into the turn in tight packs.  This made me nervous as this used to be a formula for a wreck, but time and again, all of the cars in the field would come away unscathed in this formation.

The Lotus machines were, unsurprisingly, notably slower than the rest of the field.  They were so slow in fact, they were both black flagged about ten laps into the race.  While I agree that the more engine manufacturers, the better, or this and any other series, but putting my Mazda3's engine in the field might produce similar results.  At this point, Lotus doesn't belong racing at Indy, or anywhere else on the IndyCar circuit.  They don't compete...and that's what racing is about.

The race had long stretches of green flag action...and the most lead changes ever in the 96 year history of the event.  The new aero package of the cars made it easier to use the draft of the car in front and slingshot by than ever before...so time and again, a driver would take the lead only to see it relinquished about 2.5 miles later.

It was Briscoe v. Hinchcliffe...then Andretti...then Sato and the Ganassi machines; battling back and fourth, and much of the action happened right in front of the seats that I'm blessed to sit in each year.

After getting pushed into a 180 spin in the pits by Viso, Franchitti fell to around 28th position (I believe).  In front of him, was a field that included a ton of Indy vets and machines that were pretty evenly matched.

After a month of domination by Chevy power, Honda and its teams flexed their collective muscle.  As the red Ganassi cars and Japanese darkhorse, Takuma Sato were the story for much of the second half of the 200-lap classic.

A couple stories that I liked watching were these: Mike Conway, who had struggled to find speed at Indy since his catastrophic, back-breaking wreck at the end of the race a few years ago, once again competed.  He rushed up the field into the top-10.  But, he got loose in one and collected the unlucky-at-Indy Will Power in a nasty looking wreck.  Like his last big collision at Indy, this one took him into the air and into the fence, topside first.  But thankfully, he walked way.

Conway and Power narrowly avoiding disaster

The wreck really began a few laps earlier- after Conway's torrent pace, his pit crew had some problems that led to slight damage to the front wing and a rattled English driver. Both of Foyt's machines did not finish.

Another guy I'm a fan of is local driver and Butler alum, Ed Carpenter. He had a pretty lousy month.  But, he did what he does at Indy and climbed the leader board to the top-5.  With about 30 laps remaining, it seemed that Carpenter was ready to win the race...and he got aggressive, in turn one time and began mixing it up with the bluebloods of the field.  I loved what I saw from him- he was selling out in order to win the race; something that became a recurring theme.  But, after pushing a bit too hard, his run at the lead ended in a spin in the short shoot between one and two...after changing tires, and probably his undergarments, he re-entered the race at the back of the active field.

Marco Andretti, who was my pick coming into the race, had the lead often in the early going...but his car went away from him a bit.  And in the closing laps, pushing for a higher position from sixth, he lost the car into the outside wall.

Tony Kanann, the clear fan favorite was in the lead at that point...but relinquished the lead after the wreck. The crowd was visibly excited to see the Brazilian atop the board.  An illegal, but crafty and gritty jump coming off of a yellow thrust TK from fifth to first just laps before.  His car wasn't as fast as the Honda-powered Ganassi rides...but he wanted the win, however possible.

Dixon and Franchitti, their race strategists and their pit crews earned the P1 and P2 positions for much of the closing stanza of the race.  Like Penske usually does, this veteran team was simply dialed in...and it looked like one of them would take the Borg Warner trophy.  But Sato had other ideas.

Franchitti's defining moment of the race

With a few laps left, Sato passed Dixon...putting him in second position; and his sites were set on the (then) two-time champ Scotsman. With one lap left, Sato saw a small sliver of opportunity and he went for the kill in turn one.  He went very low, Franchitti didn't leave him a ton of room, but the end result was Sato nose-first into the wall...and Franchitti claiming his third win; putting him in truly elite company.  But this wasn't just his third win, it was his third in six years.  Astounding.

I used to be more of a fan of Franchitti, but he seems to think he's above the fray of the rest of the drivers and lays blame at everyone else's feet time and again. Atop of that, his wife is simply unbearable for me.  She rode the coat tails of her talented mother and sister to earn fame. She rode the coat tails of Kentucky basketball to generate more buzz, and now she follows the wake of her husband to get more facetime.  She's  a good-looking woman that I don't like looking at because I find her to be so syrupy that it's nauseating.

So I didn't like seeing Mr. Judd winning the race yesterday.  I was rooting for Sato, Dixon, Andretti, Carpenter...hell, even wildman Servia would have been better.  The feeling I had was like when Fittipaldi would win back in the 90s; kinda empty.

But still, the race was great. And even though the cars weren't as fast as I'd like them to have been, and some of my favorite drivers ended up as DNFs and also-rans, I left IMS sunburnt and satisfied in the sweltering 93 degree Indiana heat.

Big Ten Tourney Champs!

Ass-kicking-makers

The Purdue Boilermakers won the Big Ten baseball tournament last night by kicking Indiana's ass twice -- the way that mattered was the second time on the field (6-5) in as many days; the other way was in a bench-clearing scuffle after a dust-up at third base. 

The Boilers went 3-0 in the tourney and are now outright regular season champs as well as tourney champs. As mentioned the other day, they also have the pitcher, player AND coach of the year in the Big Ten. They've now received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, their first appearance in the big tourney in a quarter century.

The all-tournament team was also announced and featured five Boilermakers:


P: Jonny Hoffman, Indiana P: Tony Bucciferro, Michigan State
P: Lance Breedlove, Purdue
C: Kevin Plawecki, Purdue
1B: Ryan Krill, Michigan State
1B: Richard Stock, Nebraska
2B: Micah Johnson, Indiana
3B: Cameron Perkins, Purdue
SS: Kirby Pellant, Ohio State
SS: David Miller, Purdue
OF: Will Nolden, Indiana
OF: Anthony Cheky, Michigan State
OF: Barrett serrato, Purdue
DH: Michael Pritchard, Nebraska
Most Outstanding Player: Kevin Plawecki, Purdue



Of course, this all makes the mess that happened in the 9th inning that much more frustrating. 


As you can see, Purdue's success is tied to their commitment to hustle (a familiar Boilermaker trait). That hustle, combined with the Hoosiers throwing it around like a little league team, led to the Boilers take the lead. Eric Charles then slid awkwardly into Michael Basil at third and apparently didn't acknowledge the famous IU banners, which Basil didn't like so he kind of knees him and there's a little shove and then before you know it, the benches have emptied, and someone (probably an umpire) is yelling "Get back in the fu-king dugout!"

Charles and Dustin DeMuth were ejected yet Basil, who started it all, was apparently not. I know there are always different way rivals see such a situation... BUT. Whether you like it or not, this was a baseball play until Basil started a fight, simple as that. I don't care if you don't like the slide or if you don't think it was textbook -- that doesn't matter. If a guy is blocking a base, you can barrel into him. That's how it works. Always has, and if you can't handle that, you shouldn't be playing baseball.

Watch the video above that Riley Schmitt had up last night. At 1:43, you can see Basil doing a headlock maneuver. At 1:49 you can see Charles -- who is on the ground and a bit more defenseless than the ogres standing over him -- get hammered by Basil who I guess took a bump from behind as an excuse to forearm shiver Charles. For a few scary seconds, Charles looks like a cowboy who fell under the herd.

The upshot is that Charles may likely be suspended for at least a game in the NCAA tournament as a result of this, which kind of seems like a bitter pill to swallow. Sure, we're biased, but here are the facts: Purdue has their first legit shot at the college world series perhaps ever. IU was frustrated and started a bench-clearing fight with their rival who was in the midst of taking their candy yet again. Somehow Purdue will have the biggest negative impact from this.

All that said, let's simply enjoy the fact that your Boilers are conference champs X 2.

Choo-choo, muthas.

Grab Your Balls, Boiler Fans

I'm talking Boiler baseball, of course.

Your Purdue Boilermakers -- outright Big Ten champs -- are now in the throes of the Big Ten baseball tournament as the #1 seed. They defeated Ohio State yesterday 5-4 with some late inning heroics by Big Ten Player of the Year Kevin Plawecki, the Boilers heart-and-soul catcher and with the save locked down by their Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Joe Haase.

The BT baseball tourney is double-elimination (bracket is here) and the top seed gives you a deserved reward in the sense that a bye past the first day, followed by two victories puts you in the tourney championship game.

Of course, because this is how life works out, our Boilers play #2-seed IU tonight to go straight to the championship game. The loser of this one goes to a game which becomes a must-win (obviously, with double-elim and all) and, if won, routes them right back to the championship game. So it's quite possible the Boilers and Hoosiers will be meeting again this weekend.

Tonight's game against IU is at 7 PM and is scheduled to be broadcast -- along with all Big Ten tourney games -- on BTN. Unless, you know, a transmitter in the BTN truck gets ice cream spilled on it or something.

The train is a-coming. Plenty o' seats on the bandwagon. Go Boilers.

ND Paid Chuck Weis Almost As Much As Brian Kelly in 2010-2011

Reader Gregg chimes in with yet another quality find and assessment of it. He sends along this link to a Chicago Tribune story detailing how much Notre Dame is still paying Charlie Weis -- at about $8.7 million and climbing. From July 2010 to June 2011, Weis made over $2 million from ND, while Brian Kelly netted $2.4 million. 

Three more years, suckas!

In addition, it appears that Weis will continue to receive buyout money through December 2015. Amazing, really. But I wish I had such a contract.

Gregg's commentary with the link was as follows:

Basically, Charlie Weis has, ahem, "earned" $8.7 Million dollars since he was fired from Notre Dame, and will continue to get paid through 2015-- note that this figure does not include his ridiculously high salary from his coaching days-- this is merely his buyout so far (after all is said and done, the buyout will reportedly total around $20M). 

Not bad for a guy who went 15-22 in his last 3 years, and a lifetime coaching average of .564-- and even then, this number is inflated because 2 of his "victories" came from NCAA-mandated forfeits of opposing teams (USC and North Carolina were forced to vacate their wins for tainted seasons).  So it really is a .532 average.  UND was that desperate to get rid of this loser-- I have a colleague with a connection to a big shot within the alum association, and trust me, they passed the hat around.  His current salary at Kansas?  $2.5M.  Dude does less with more than anybody I've ever seen in CFB. 

If mediocrity has a price, I guess the going rate at Notre Dame is $20M.

Well-said, Gregg, and thanks for stoking the embers of Weis-hate. They always keep us cozy and warm. 

Morgan Burke Wants You Home By Curfew

"You silly fans don't understand the nuances like I do!"

Morgan Burke gave a few nuggets on his thoughts regarding lights at Ross-Ade Stadium to the J&C recently and the gist is, as always, that you dumb fans just don't get it. You can read the H&R take on this here, but we'll add a few thoughts, too.

First, Morgan says that he lobbied for the Michigan game to be an afternoon game and not a night game "so it wouldn’t be late for our people to get home." Seriously, he said that. You need to be snug in your beddy-byes in time to watch the prime time games being played at other college football venues around the country. Where, one assumes, the fans all bring sleeping bags and go to sleep in their seats right when the game ends. Wouldn't want them trying to find their way home at 10:30 PM on a Saturday night!

Then Morgan says that one of the reasons not to have lights is because he and Purdue don't control the start times of football games.

But wait, I thought Burke "lobbied" for the Michigan game to be in the afternoon and not at night? So he sometimes, kind of... does have some control or at least input into the times of games. Either that or he is making up that he had some influence on the Michigan start time to make it seem like he's more of a big shot than he really is.

As always, though, my favorite part of any Purdue communique from the Athletic Department is the snide, backhanded remark about Purdue fans.

“I know there’s a vocal group who feel that’s the right thing to do but they don’t have any logic other than it would be nice to have a night game. It’s a double edge sword. I’m glad we got the Michigan game.”

Wait, what? Is Morgan Burke so detached that he really doesn't understand the benefits of having games in prime time? The visibility of those games alone is worth a tremendous amount. Many more eyes are seeing Purdue commercials, Purdue's campus and Purdue athletics. But seriously, I'm not going to enumerate the reasons why having games in prime time could be a good thing. They should be obvious. It's 2012.

I also don't understand how having games in prime time is "a double edge sword." He has stuck to this line of reasoning for quite some time but never fully explains it -- only that we don't understand because we haven't  "[stood] back, as do I, and look[ed] at it from every possible angle." Right. Like landscaping or a new paint color. Stand back and look at it, people!

Well, I have looked at it. For years. And I'm a moderately intelligent human being, and I think lights would be a good idea. But what do I know?

Oh, also... "I'm glad we got the Michigan game"? Uh... what? It was on the schedule. What did Purdue "get"?

As for the lights, the fact that the estimated cost is only $1.5-$2.0 million to install actually seems reasonable to me, especially given how much is spent on arena renovations and coaches salaries. And speaking of arena renovations, we didn't technically need the Mackey renovations, either, did we?

I mean, wasn't the "logic" there just people who thought it would be nice to have better seats?

Monday Gumbo; Pre-Indy 500 Edition

Big Jay Gets Screwed...Again
Jay Simpson had surgery on his foot recently following breaking his foot a few weeks ago.  In spite of needing surgery to repair the break, his docs still say he'll be available for the trip to Italy with his Boiler teammates. I'd venture a guess though, with two months out of commission, Jay will exhibit some rust come early August.  He says he's currently about 10 pounds heavier than he'd like to be...so getting in shape for the '12/'13 season, while not impossible, will be difficult for Purdue's 6'9" Freshman PF.

This isn't the first time Simpson has had to have surgery on a foot; a few years ago, he had similar surgery on the other foot.

In November, Simpson joins a youthful, but talented frontcourt with fellow Freshman, Hammons and Hale, along with Sophomore, Jacob Lawson and Juniors, Carroll and Marcius.

Still Champs...But...
The Baseball Boilers dropped their first series of the B1G season in Iowa over last weekend.  The sub-.500 Hawkeyes managed to score at least 6 runs in all three games of Purdue's final series of the regular season.  Now, Purdue heads into the B1G tourney as the #1 seed in the conference...but needs to play well in an effort to host a round in the NCAA tourney.

Back on the Team
OJ Ross practiced all Spring without a schollie for the Hope's team after academic problems and enigmatic behavior put the starting behavior in the doghouse.  Dwayne Beckford had another run-in with the law during the winter that forced him out of Spring practice and off of the team.

Both players have had their scholarships re-instated...but make no mistake, both cases aren't the same.

Ross, while exhibiting some laziness, both on and off the field probably should be given another chance to play in the fall.  Purdue's receiving corps desperately needs stability and experience...especially with Antavian Edison's status still a question mark following his arrest in Florida earlier this month.

But, Beckford, in my opinion, has had more than enough opportunities to stay out of trouble, and simply hasn't been able to do so. I think Hope really wants to see the kid graduate...and I appreciate that idea. But, as we saw at the end of Tiller's time at Purdue, letting guys who repeatedly break the law does no good for the program in the longrun...and really doesn't do much good for that individual either.

While Purdue needs help at LB even more than WR, I'd rather not see #3 playing for my alma mater in the fall...but I'm not the guy who makes the call (obviously).

Edison's weapons charge in Florida still has a ton of ways it can go.  Who knows if Antavian was unaware of the weapon in the car, if it was his or if he tried to deflect some of the attention off of his uncle (who is already a convicted felon)...regardless, this seems like a really dumb situation to be caught in...and if he gets off with misdemeanor charges and a plea (which I think he will), hopefully, he never puts himself in this position again.  Unlike Beckford, Edison has never been in trouble with the law before this incident...but if he's charged/convicted with a felony weapons charge, he'll surely be off the team and kicked out of school.

Spake or Steele? Everyone's a Winner here
I'm a big fan of blonde-haired sports reporters with dimples. Weird, I know.

I think Samantha Steele is one of the best in the business...she's knowledgeable and very good to look at as well.  But racing fans, specifically NASCAR fans know Shannon Spake...and probably like her quite a bit.  IndyCar fans have Jamie Little (I'm not a huge fan).

But in a cage match for on-field (or on track) supremacy, who wins- Spake or Steele? Weigh in on the upper right of the page on this week's poll.

No losers in this competition

No-Bump Bump Day
I spent two afternoons at IMS in the last three days...and gathered some more opinions of my favorite form of racing...here are some nuggets.

Bourdais' new paintjob is badass.

-The extra boost used to help make quals and practice faster and more entertaining did exactly what it was supposed to do.  BUT, I don't think it's a coincidence that there were four crashes in that period.

The new chassis, as it's configured now has a ton of downforce and makes it easier to drive.  The combo of additional horsepower and taking out as much wing as possible led to some pretty dramatic wrecks.

-Before a few teams left Lotus to seek some engines that would actually compete at Indy and everyplace else on the circuit, it was tough to find an extra engine in the IndyCar garages.

After a few of those Chevys went backend-first into the outside walls, the engine shortage became an even bigger deal.  The end result was a Bump Day at IMS that had exactly 33 driver/car combos...and four or five drivers left with their hats in their hands as they sought rides to get into the show.  Next year, with another year of development, and hopefully the loss of Lotus and another manufacturer (i.e. Ford or Mazda?) coming into the league, Bump Day should return to where it was in 2011 and before.

-I'm all for safety of the drivers...but let's look at what racing really is at its core: Go as fast as possible and beat your competition.  That principle is no longer in play in any of the major racing leagues in the world.

NASCAR machines were going 205+ in the 90s...CART had cars that would do close to 250 on a straight-away in the 70s and 80s (sure, they couldn't turn at anywhere near that speed) and F1 continues to take away aero advantages to make driving the car more of a challenge (I'm actually a fan of this as it seems much of F1 racing is out of the drivers' hands)...

The point is IndyCar needs to get back to the days in which teams were encouraged to innovate and press for speed. Sure, that idea led to a Buick that went 236 mph...but couldn't hold up for more than 40 laps of race conditions; but isn't that the point? Everything in racing is about risk/reward.

Allowing the teams to change aero packages next year is a good step forward...and hopefully, with another year of development, the Honda and Chevy engines will be able to get closer to 230 again. But the fact that multiple drivers were over 235 mpg 20 years ago, and can barely crack 225 now makes fans like me long for "the good ole' days".

That said, I still love IndyCar and the month of May at IMS.

Morgan Burke's Take On 7-Win Bowl Eligibility and a Note On Aspiring Female Football Fans

In an article posted by the Journal & Courier, Morgan Burke was quoted as supporting the likely move to seven wins for bowl eligibility, which Big Ten Commish Jim Delaney recently talked about as coming sooner or later.

I, for one, am actually with Burke on this one. A season is difficult to describe as "good" when your record is the very definition of mediocrity (6-6). A 7-5 record shows you decisively won more than you lost and that with a bowl win, you're an 8-win team. I think -- and this is unscientific -- the average college football fan would say an 8-win season is pretty good.

Not surprisingly, Coach Hope prefers to stick with the 6-win marker, mainly because -- I imagine -- Danny doesn't measure how good his team is in wins, but in heart. Or something. (Maybe I've just been reading Hopeful Danny's Twitter feed too much.)

Obviously the idea of what the fans prefer can be debated, but I actually appreciate Burke's honesty in stating that a 6-6 team going to a crappy bowl (be it Purdue or anyone else) leads to only marginally-interested fans, unsold tickets and cost to the University. It should feel like a reward and as much as we appreciate the guys who wear the old gold and black and represent us all, they should definitely have to earn that reward.

I did like this quote from Burke and, before you accuse me of reading into something too much, understand that I'm doing it more tongue-and-cheek because it amuses me:

“Having a 7-5 record in football isn’t easy, even with the way we schedule non-conference games.”

Potential translation: Even though we have some cupcakes that should be easy wins, you've seen how hard that can be for us.

Burke also acknowledges how the bar is moving from 6-6 as a measure of success to 7-5, which correlates directly to his remarks before last season that he expected a bowl out of the 2011 team. Coach Hope's squad delivered, just barely. If they hit the 7 win marker this year, I think Morgan Burke should just say the measure of success for 2013 is 12-0.

* * * * * *

Also in the article linked was an interesting tidbit about an upcoming event called "Huddle in Heels," which is a "clinic ...designed for women who want to gain basic football knowledge and who want to learn more about the Purdue football. Gentlemen also are welcome to attend."

I like "learn more about the Purdue football." Kind of like how my grandmother might have said it. I also love that gentlemen are welcome to attend. At first you might think, like hell! I know my football! But think of it this way... you'll be among women who are interested in learning more about football. Isn't that sort of.... hot?

Coach Tiller Thinks About A Comeback

Grass don't grow on a busy street!

Oh, did that headline get you excited? Or worried?

Turns out, Cliff at Indy Sports Legends wrote a piece on how Joe Tiller thinks about coming back quite a bit, but then remembers how tired and disinterested he was by the end of his time at Purdue. Only he doesn't quite use those words.

Tiller is 69 now and is loving the life of a retiree, traveling the country, fishing, eating waffles at the local diner in Wyoming and, of course, giving his analysis on the Big Ten Network. And why wouldn't he? He probably enjoys reminding DiNardo and Mason that he's the reason they are in a studio now and not on a sideline. Who wouldn't enjoy that?

Tiller also thinks Coach Hope is doing a good job, so we'll know how his vote is cast when we set up our next Hope Satisfaction Poll sometime after Purdue's first hard-to-stomach loss in the fall.

The Story Behind The Iconic Hummel Pic

You probably remember this photo from November 2011. After the Boilers narrowly avoided the humiliation of losing on their home court to High Point, Rob Hummel came back out and went back to work on his free throws. You may recall that he missed a couple of crucial FTs late in that game. Never mind that he looked gassed and was just getting his legs back after 20 months away from real games. Rob certainly didn't appear to see that as an excuse and I distinctly remember his reaction after missing the FTs and still winning -- Hummel looked like he wanted to punch himself in the face.

So he shot free throw after free throw, late into the evening. Cliff Brunt, who is working on a fantastic site he calls Indy Sports Legends, writes for the AP and was able to snap that photo. If you click here, you can read his story about that photo, the situation around it, and his thoughts about why it resonated. My favorite part of his analysis is the following:

The photo exemplified everything people already believed about Robbie. Hard work. Determination. Winner. Leadership, indeed.

And that's just it. People need heroes in their lives, even of the sports variety. Sometimes we build someone up because we want them to be the pure, wonderful person we need them to be. Sometimes -- like with Rob -- they even live up to it.