100 Years at Indy

It truly is the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing," and maybe the Entire Sporting World

I have relatives in Louisville who swear the Kentucky Derby is "the most exciting 2 minutes in sports." They tell me every year, and every year I scoff. I tell them over half the crowd never sees a horse. I tell them nobody outside the track has ever heard of any of the competitors. And I tell them simply that until they've seen the opening laps of the Indianapolis 500, they ain't seen nothin' yet. You don't know "goose bumps" until you hear "Back Home Again in Indiana" and sit through the next 10 minutes. Before you die, you owe it to yourself to go see the Indy 500 once. Buy good seats, go early, and just soak up the day. There are few sporting venues in the world that have a feel (and I'll grant Churchill Downs is one of those places), but Indy has a feeling so palatable it starts before you ever walk in the gates and it's there whether there are cars on the track or not.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is legendary. Some of the names who are past champions there are etched into Americana just as deeply as some of Hollywood's brightest stars. Mario Andretti. AJ Foyt. Al and Bobby Unser. Travel the world over, and mention "Indianapolis." I've done it, and I can tell you those names and others come up with the mere mention of the city. Indianapolis is synonymous with the annual 500 mile race; and for 100 years legends have been born, nurtured, and celebrated at the largest single-day sporting event in the world.

This year's race was run by the deepest and most talented field in years. It featured 5 former winners responsible for 8 past victories. It featured a "Dancing with the Stars" champion in 3-time race winner Helio Castroneves. It featured among its record tying 4 women Danica Patrick, the racing world's most prominent lightning rod. It featured 2 generations of Andrettis (John and Marco), racing's royal family. And the pre-race festivities featured names like Richard Petty, Seal, Kelly Clarkson, Paul Newman, Marshall Faulk, and as always, Gomer Pyle himself, Jim Nabors. The stars come out for Indy, and this year was no different.

The race itself was terrific and came down to the last turn of the last lap. I could hi-light the entire race; but after a few crashes, a few pit mishaps, a few daring moves and terrifying re-starts; all that really mattered was a split second decision made by a rookie, J.R. Hildebrand. My two oldest sons went to their first race this year, and what they saw - right in front of them - will live in their memory and in Indy legend for as long as they live. Panther Racing has been at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for years, and finished 2nd every year from 2008-2010 with drivers Dan Wheldon and Vitor Meira. It's a solid team, sponsored by the United States National Guard. Hildebrand is a rookie in name only, as he's an incredibly talented driver destined for greatness in IndyCar; but on lap 200, on his 800th turn; he faced a decision which will haunt him forever. Because of fuel strategy, many of the "regular" names weren't in direct contention for a win. Hildebrand found himself in the lead, 4 seconds ahead of Dan Wheldon going into the 3rd turn of the final lap. When he came through the corner cleanly, ahead of him was fellow rookie Charlie Kimball (a hero himself, as he is the first diabetic to qualify and race at Indy), himself on a fuel strategy just to finish. Hildebrand was cruising at a quick pace of 220 MPH and didn't know Kimball, a few hundred yards ahead, had backed out of the throttle to conserve fuel and was going just 180 MPH. A few hundred yards closes in a big hurry with a 40 MPH difference, and by the time Kimball turned down into turn 4, Hildebrand was right on his bumper. Was Kimball a little too high on entry into the corner? Did Hildebrand's spotters fail to let J.R. know to slow down just a tick? Whatever the case, Hildebrand caught Kimball at exactly the wrong time in exactly the wrong place. Nowhere to go but the high side, where it's slick and it's unforgiving. In what will be remembered for decades if not centuries as the biggest blunder in motorsports history, J.R. Hildebrand slid up the track and hit the wall, less than a quarter mile from immortality. At Indy, it's win or be forgotten. As unfair as it is, J.R. Hildebrand will be akin to Bill Buckner or Scott Norwood. He handled it with an incredible amount of grace, class, and maturity and I personally hope he has a long and propsperous career as a racer. But no matter who shoulders the blame; spotters, driver, or Kimball, this moment will be seen on sports television shows until all of us are long gone.

With due congratulations to a wonderful champion in Dan Wheldon, the 2011 Indianapolis 500 will be most remembered for the guy who lost it rather than the guy who won it. Tradition is alive and well in Indianapolis; and in one man's opinion, it's the coolest thing on the planet.

Hello my friends, it's been a while!

What better time to rekindle this thing than the beginning of spring (pitchers and catchers are in camp. I don't care what the calendar says because I'm ignoring it anyway)? Playoff basketball for local high schools is on the doorstep, the aforementioned baseball players are active again, and the 6 feet of solid ice in my yard is beginning to melt! And there's much to talk and write about, so here I am. Lots on my mind recently :

First of all, I'm officially back on the Indiana Pacers' bandwagon. I'm sure I'll be welcomed aboard, but I really need to know what the heck took them so long to dump Jim O'Brien? What did he provide that they needed, even when it was obvious he'd lost the team. Frank Vogel has done nothing but make a few subtle changes, open the rotation a little, and all of a sudden the Pacers are fun to watch, look like they care, and are obviously enjoying themselves and each other. Did I mention Vogel has started 7-1? I don't care who they've played....7-1 is 7-1 and I guarantee O'Brien's Pacers wouldn't have touched that. Dare I say Indianapolis might well be a Pacers town again soon?

While I'm on the subject, count me as the guy who thinks the Pacers are a superstar away from being a very good team for a long time. They have money in the off-season, but this year's free-agent class is relatively soft. Apart from New Orleans' David West, I can't find a guy the Pacers could really use, so why not shoot for the moon while we have the ammunition? TJ Ford, Brandon Rush, and Jeff Foster to the LA Clippers for Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman. Kaman's contract is awful; but Gordon's not staying with the Clippers when he's up for free agency in 2 years. No one does, and he won't be the first. He wants to be here and openly said so when the Pacers hosted the Clips in December. That trade gives the Clips 2 expiring contracts and a very capable shooting guard. There are other ways to do it, but that's the easiest. LA is going to lose Gordon anyway; they might as well grab some free money and drop an awful contract in the process. Kaman can back up Roy Hibbert if healthy and the trade works money-wise. It hurts the Clippers who swear they're building a team around Gordon and Blake Griffin, but they've promised to build teams before and I don't buy that ANY good player wants to play 2nd fiddle in his own city. Gordon's not staying....might as well see what you can get back for him, and the Pacers have more than anyone. Would anyone else be excited with a core group of Darren Collison, Eric Gordon, Paul George, Danny Granger, Tyler Hansbrough, David West, and Roy Hibbert!?! I sure would and the Pacers can absolutely make that happen! For giggles, play around with this http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine It's awesome.

Pitchers and catchers are in camp, and I still hate Paul Janish as the Reds' full-time shortstop. First of all, he can't hit. He had a decent first half last year, but his lifetime average is still .226 and in GABP? The Reds can't afford another automatic out. "But he has such a great glove he makes up for his poor hitting with incredible defense!" you say? Really? His lifetime fielding % in 3 seasons is .972. The guy he replaced, Orlando Cabrera? .970 in 14 seasons. Not buying, Janish fans. Not buying.

I DO love the Reds' pitching problem. It's not your father's Reds' pitching problem, boys and girls! This one's a good one. The Reds have too MANY pitchers. Bronson Arroyo was re-signed, so he's all but guaranteed a spot in the rotation. Same with Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez. Homer Bailey's out of options, so that's 4; and if you believe as I do that you need a lefty in the rotation, Travis Wood makes 5. Done. But Mike Leake had an incredible rookie season. Matt Maloney was solid. Sam LeCure made some quality starts. Aroldis Chapman's still there, even he's a bullpen guy for a while! See....good problem to have. But about that bullpen...Chapman's got a spot. As much as I hate it, so does Francisco Cordero. Nick Masset's probably set and I'd be surprised if Logan Ondrusek isn't kept around. The wild cards are Jose Arrodondo and Dontrelle Willis. Both are wildly exciting prospects and both, if their "old selves" make this pitching staff an incredible asset. Add Bill Bray and Jared Burton, and that's an impressive group. And there's a kid named Jordan Smith who opened lots of eyes last year. Odd man out? The only guy who's smaller than his own cap. Daniel Ray Herrera. The league's figured him out, anyway. I smell a trade and God, I hope it's for an every day shortstop!

What to do about my Indiana Basketball Hoosiers? One day they have me believing they're back and ready for the NIT bid I predicted in the fall. The next day, they don't bring any effort and look terrible. I guess I'll simply say that Tom Crean will be a much better coach when he has better players. Until that time, I think he's under-performed and I hate his offense. He's everything Indiana University needs in every aspect except on the floor. Indiana fans by and large are used to winning and anyone older than 35 knows what it's like to expect to win every night. Now? Standards have been lowered so much that I've heard some say that our losses this season have been by fewer points than last and that equals progress!! But IU still doesn't have a win away from Assembly Hall where they had 2 last season. Their conference record will be just about the same and they're likely to finish last when they finished 10th last season. And no statistical category is up significantly. I just don't see the improvement I thought I would, and Tom Crean still has much to prove, I think. IU fans are not a patient lot, and a decade's enough. The Hoosiers have enough talent to be far better than their record shows; and I think they've under-achieved this season, despite the myriad excuses I've seen. Tom Crean's seat isn't hot yet, but his team needs to show significant improvement next season or it will be.

Finally, I can't watch ESPN broadcast games anymore. When will these bozos figure out I don't care what bands they like and I don't tune in to hear stupid catch phrases. And I sure as hell don't care which American Idol contestant they liked. Can you imagine Howard Cosell saying "I thought Crystal Bowersox was dazzling"?

Nice to be back, fair readers. Fire me a comment or vote in this month's poll so I know you're out there. It's baseball season!

Winter Hiatus

Readers - If there are any of you left, I wanted to share that I'm taking some time off from this because it was the one thing I could cut from my life right now to open up what has become a very valuable hour or two a week.

As we know, the Colts aren't the Colts this season, the Hoosiers aren't "back" yet, Jim O'Brien is still coaching a team that appears to have completely tuned him out, IU hired a new football coach we can't judge for 3 years, and pitchers and catchers don't report for 2 months.

Coaching basketball takes up much of my time in the winter, so I'll ask that you bear with me for a couple more months. In the meantime, have a warm, safe, and happy holiday season and stay away from yellow snow. I'm gonna' warm up and hopefully return with lots of opinion, inside scoop, and good conversation.

RT

Notes Written on my Bathroom Mirror

* The Cincinnati Reds were not ready for the big time. I was reminded of Gene Hackman's timeout rant from "Hoosiers." "Maybe we don't belong up here!!!" If ever a professional team looked totally unprepared and completely dominated, that was it. Under the bright lights of national exposure, the Reds folded like a contortionist and really embarrassed themselves. As a fan, I was hoping for better. As a would-be general manager, I go out and find a left fielder with a big right-handed bat and I don't particularly care what it takes to get him (Ryan Braun, anyone?). I find a shortstop. Paul Janish is not the answer, and Cabrera can't play every day. I make Scott Rolen rest at least every 4th day, and I find out if Juan Francisco can play in the majors on a regular basis. I take a good hard look at any trade involving Coco Cordero and I don't shy away from a good deal for Brandon Phillips. I lock up Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, and Drew Stubbs. And I lose sleep at night wondering what idiot convinced me to give Dusty Baker a contract extension.

* Ron Jaworski said today that "father time has caught up with Peyton Manning." I wonder if he's actually watched the games or if he simply saw the stat line from last week's Chiefs game and came to the illogical conclusion that because Manning didn't throw a touchdown pass, he must be getting old. I wonder if he realized Manning had the best 4-game start of his career and was in the top 5 of every positive QB category. I really wonder what the national obsession is for trashing the Colts. Because they're not a traditional team in the sense they don't win with a running game and defense, they've become a popular and easy target for the lazy pundit-types who clearly don't watch the team and don't pay attention. Cris Carter and Keyshawn Johnson (when I'm done here, someone please explain to me how CBS couldn't do any better than those two shills) have been trashing the Colts for years, and all the Colts do is win 12 games every season. Mike Greenberg called him "the best regular season quarterback I've ever seen," but then said he's probably the most disappointing post-season quarterback. 9-9 with a 63% completeion rate, a QB rating of 88 (since 2002 only one below 90, by the way) and 28 TD's compared with 19 INT's - 7 of which came in 2006 when the Colts won the Super Bowl - passes for disappointing? Good. I hope the national media continues to let the Colts fly under the radar. And I hope Manning remembers during his hall of fame speech.

* Midnight madness is tonight, which means college basketball's in the air and we get to listen to Dick Vitale again soon. As an Indiana University alum and fan, I'm cautiously optimistic that IU's fortunes will soon change. I have a gut feeling the dam's about to break and I hope people get their shots in now. I fully expect Cody Zeller to commit to Indiana next month, and I expect several followers. We're bbaaaaaaaaccckkk..

* Staying with the IU theme for a minute, does anyone outside the football office down there really believe Bill Lynch is the right man to lead that team and program? He's the nicest, kindest man on the planet; but as a head coach at a Big 10school, I simply don't see it. Indiana seems destined for its 3rd straight last place finish, yet Lynch and Fred Glass continue to talk about "seeing improvement!" Where, Coach? When you laid down for Ohio State? When you made the same mistakes your team has for 3 years while losing to Michigan? Was it the ref's fault again? The defense has clearly regressed, the running game is non-existent; and Lynch does nothing but praise how good IU's opponents have been. The recruiting classes have drawn praise, but while they're better by IU standards, they're consistently ranked last in the Big 10. Until Indiana University takes football seriously, it's not going to win. Until losing is no longer acceptable, Indiana will not win. I like Bill Lynch personally, but he seems in way over his head at the division 1 level.

* I really want to see a Rangers-Phillies World Series. I want to see Roy Halladay pitch to Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz. I want to see Ryan Howard hit in that bandbox in Arlington. And I hate the Yankees.

RT Brightman

The Spiral

Did you hear? The Reds swung themselves a no-hitter tonight! Roy Halladay was on the mound, but the clearly over-matched and obviously terrified Reds helped Halladay throw the first post-season no hitter since Don Larson in 1956. Yes, Halladay was brilliant, but isn't he always? There's simply no excuse for a team as offensively talented as the Cincinnati Reds to get dominated like they did tonight. None. From the first hitter (Brandon Phillips who swung weakly at the game's first pitch, grounding out softly to the Phillies' shortstop, Jimmy Rollins), the Reds looked defensive and intimidated at the plate.

Not that any Reds fan should be surprised. Good pitching has stopped the Reds for the better part of 2 decades (the last time the Reds made the post-season, the Braves - with Maddux, Glavine, et al - swept them in 4 games), and tonight was certainly no exception. I've seen fewer weak swings at a senior citizen golf outing. Tonight, I was embarrassed to be a Reds fan. Kudos to Halladay, but he had plenty of help. How many "down a straw," early in the count strikes does a team have to watch before someone says "let's adjust?" How many in-the-dirt balls does a team have to swing at before someone says "if it starts down, it stays down...lay off that stuff!?" It was like watching guys who've never seen a curve ball before and weren't aware that Halladay loves working ahead in the count! You don't wait Halladay out....you go up hacking aggressively. I didn't have a problem with Phillips' swinging at the first pitch tonight; but I did have a problem with the fact that the Reds looked scared to step in the box against Halladay!

The hardest ball the Reds hit all night was cracked not by MVP candidate Joey Votto; young sensation Jay Bruce, or wily veteran Scott Rolen, but rather relief pitcher Travis Wood. Catcher Ramon Hernandez missed a couple of pitches by at least 18 inches. Left fielder Jonny Gomes - as usual - pulled off several pitches while striking out twice; and Phillips was tied in knots all night. Rolen, Cincinnati's senior leader whiffed 3 times and Votto never made solid contact. Reds' hitters were dropping their hands all night, resulting in several harmless pop flies; and the last out of the game - a little duck snort in front of the plate by Phillips - was the epitome of the game. A weak swing and easy out, sending Halladay into history. You're welcome, Roy. Thank God the history books will never show how awful, helpful, and defenseless the Reds were for you.

In other news, Colts safety Melvin Bullitt's out for the season, along with kick returner and Indianapolis native Devin Moore. Antoine Bethea limped off the practice field tonight with an apparent hamstring injury; and Austin Collie's battling a similar problem. Pierre Garcon may come back this week, but he too is nursing an injury. So is backup running back Donald Brown. So are 3 different linebackers and offensive linemen. This may be the season when the Colts simply aren't good enough, boys and girls. Peyton Manning can't do it by himself. He's off to his best ever start, looking solely at numbers. But he's getting no help. The defense is porous, the offensive line's not solid; and now the defensive backfield is nothing short of a walking infirmary. The Colts have always "found a way" in the past; but that task gets harder and harder every week. When you have a target on your back for as long as the Colts have, at some point, people are going to hit it and something in my gut says this is the year. I hope I'm wrong.

I am actually looking forward to watching the Pacers. What has the world come to?

RT Brightman

Pathetic.

Is defensive football really that difficult? If you're a Colts or Hoosiers fan, it must seem impossible. How much would you pay to see your team get a stop when it needed it? When it mattered most? The scenarios of both teams are eerily similar from a coaching standpoint.

Indiana hired Terry Hoeppner and I truly think he was the right guy for that job. Passionate, hard driving, and wouldn't accept anything but positive results. His untimely death forced a difficult choice on Indiana. IU's administration decided to hire Bill Lynch, in no small part because Hoeppner's widow Jane said he was the right guy. Looking at Lynch's resume, I have no idea how any reasonable human being could come to that conclusion. Here's a coach who took a decent Ball State team straight into the toilet, eventualy piling up an 0-11 season in the MAC. That's hard to do. He did eventually get them "back" to just under .500; but nothing on his resume suggested he'd have even warranted an interview if he hadn't been on Hoeppner's staff to begin with. The year following Hoeppner's death, Indiana - using emotion, Hoeppner's system and Hoeppner's players - went to a bowl game and finished the regular season 7-5. Since? Two straight last place finishes in the Big 10, lost lead and missed opportunity after lost lead and missed opportunity. Poor fundamentals and poor execution. And incredibly bad defense.

The Colts? They hand the job to Jim Caldwell who looks to me like Homer Simpson on the sideline. He looks lost and he looks nothing like a man in control. But his being handed the job when Tony Dungy left is eerily similar to Indiana University. Caldwell's history as a head man is less than stellar, as he had a losing recrd at Wake Forest. In his first season? His team went to the Super Bowl, but the argument can easily be made for "Dungy hangover." Now? In year 2, the defense looks undisciplined and it can't make a play when it needs to. Kelvin Hayden won't sleep tonight if he has a conscience after dropping what may be the easiest interception of his career. And the defense as a whole over-pursues more than teen-aged boys on spring break. The coverage is soft, and I'll never understand how you can call a blitz and at the same time play soft coverage on the outside. Jacksonville took advantage of that at least three times, and as bad as David Garrard has been, the Colts made him look like a good NFL quarterback. That loss was inexcusable and simply sad. Dungy's teams struggled defensively at times too; but always seemed to figure out how to win important games. Caldwell's Colts are 0-2 in the AFC South for the first time in history and have looked awful for 3 of the 4 games they've played.

As a fan of both Indiana and the Colts, I must admit to being a little disappointed in the lack of pursuing the right coach for each job. Indiana Basketball lost a decade by making the easy choice when it hired Mike Davis and I'll submit they still haven't recovered from that terrible decision. Lynch is clearly in way over his head against decent and good football teams, and I don't like the pattern under Caldwell. Maybe I'm over-reading it; but maybe I'm not. I use my eyes to make decisions, and I don't like what I see.

RT Brightman

Not Dead Yet and a Little Home Cookin'

Looks like people wrote the obituary a bit prematurely. I don't know if the New York Giants are a good team or not, but they got completely dominated (physically, mentally, and on the scoreboard) in all phases yesterday. The Colts displayed their incredible array of weapons, and the most effective may have been punter/kickoff specialist Pat McAfee. He kicked off 7 times. 6 ended up as touchbacks, and the 7th was brought out from 6 yards deep and returned all the way out to the 13 yard line. That's an average starting position of the 19-yard line for the Giants. For those who remember the 2008 playoff loss to San Diego and the incredible field posession battle the Colts fought that entire game, McAfee was equally dominant last night.

And oh yeah. There's that Manning guy. He showed his little brother exactly what an offense should look like. If anyone needed a lesson in "efficiency," that's what it looks like. Not a wasted motion, not a wasted throw; and 400+ yards of total offense while seemingly always in the right play. The Colts showed they aren't simply a one-dimentional team you can beat with a game plan. They showed they aren't a soft, finesse group you can physically dominate. And they showed the game in Houston was an anomaly.

True, home games are much easier on the emotions than roadies are, but THAT was Colts football. I don't claim to know or have the answers about what happened in Houston. But the problems were immenently fixable. The Colts went from passive, submissive victims to a dominant force; and where they got simply man-handled against the Texans; the Colts defense so frustrated Giants running back Brandon Jacobs that he flung his helmet into the stands in anger. What a difference a week makes.

This 2010 season - and for as long as the personnel stays largely the same with the necessary tweaks here and there - will be enjoyable for Colts fans, and yes...it will end with a playoff appearance. No team in the NFL would have defeated the Colts last night, and they're the most consistent thing since "sunrise." Tear up the obituary. Please tell Keyshawn and Cris Carter they can come off their high horse (have any 2 analysists ever been as biased and unqualified as those 2??). And please pull "Blue" off the ledge. The 2010 Colts? They're just getting started.

Bob Sanders just got hurt again.

RT Brightman