this is getting old.

drew neitzel dropped 15 in the second half to overcome the hoosiers 10 point half time lead and to lead the michigan state spartans to a 66-58 victory tonight at the jack breslin student center. the hoosiers, who had 0 turnovers in the first half, gave it away 16 times in the second half en route to losing their fifth straight road game.

"Give Drew Neitzel credit, those shots were tough," said IU head coach Kelvin Sampson.

The Hoosiers played very efficiently in the first half, creating 16 turnovers which turned in to 15 points. However, the home crowd at the Breslin center brought the Spartans back in the game after falling behind by 13 with 19:02 to go after three free throws by Armon Bassett. Bassett added a season-high 25 points.

"There's no way we win that game without our fans because I had three guys walking on their tongues at the end," said Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. "I never thought I'd have a game when my point guards had 13 turnovers and we still won."

The Hoosiers now head into the final two games of the regular season with one more home game against Penn State and the season finale on the road at Northwestern during the first week of March.
The loss dropped IU to 18-9 (8-6).

Notes:
-IU shot 35.4% from the field while Michigan State shot 54.5%.
-The Hoosiers went deep in the bench tonight with 7 players in double-figure minutes.
- Michigan State did not score a field goal after the 3:47 mark, relying on free throws to seal the game.

Analysis:
Coach Sampson seemed to take this loss with a grain of salt in the post-game conference and I couldn't really tell if it was sarcastic. He really felt that the team played hard tonight but Michigan State's played tougher. Turnovers really killed the Hoosiers in the second half, but most of them were forced. I still like this team despite their ridiculously frustrating nature on the road. Wih Calloway coming back, I feel like this team can compete very well in the neutral big ten tourney and at the ncaa's. Should be fun, but for now, we're gonna hit the hay and then trudge back through yet another ice storm tomorrow. should be fun.

(visual credit: gm)

halftime at michigan state.

live from the breslin center ... it's your host, geoffrey miller.

the hoosiers came out strong and firing. they lead at half time 30-20 in what has proved to be their best road half of basketball since the connecticut game. this team is what we've been seeing at home!

it's a good thing the 3 ball is dropping in tonight here in east lansing. the hoosiers are 6-16 from behind the arc and 4 of 7 from the rest of the field. bassett has 11 and ratliff has 10. where's dj white though? he's gotta show up the 2nd half.

michigan state will tie this game and indiana is going to have to show some gusto. and the iu side has been getting the benefit of the doubt on several fouls. it's about time for the hoosiers on the road. i have a feeling that may change the 2nd half. and drew neitzel has to get hot at some point, right? he's only got 4.

man, it's been a fun game and this arena is amazing. enjoy the show, boys and girls.

(i'm sitting on the IU bench side about the 3rd photographer in the white shirt. conveniently right in front of the beautiful erin andrews. yes! see at the end.)

welcome to the breslin center.

well, we're here, and nice and on time. the parking is questionable, and we hope that michigan state parking services doesn't tow us. anyways, as i sit next to dick vitale and some other espn fellows, some thoughts on the arena.

first off, wow. and second? WOW. the lighting is absolutely gorgeous. (yeah, that's the photographer in me) the arena is very, very fan friendly in terms of sight lines. it's got the full wrap-around seating and even the upper levels don't seem to far away. the students are RIGHT on the court basically, and yeah, it's bright. very very bright. like standing on the sun bright.

game time is just about an hour away, and it looks like we could be awhile from home. the weather in indy is already looking real bad and we have to trek home in the ice and snow tomorrow morning and afternoon -- and possibly night. woo-hoo!

enjoy the game folks, it's gonna be a good one!

and check out the scores of some other games .... with 2:52 left kansas is beating iowa state 85-47. the score was 70-29 with 9 minutes left. mercy rule anyone? and florida got beat, again. too bad.

maybe we'll chat at halftime. laterz.

it's gameday.

this is kind of a funny situation. i'm sitting in bloomington right now and watching college gameday. in 7 hours, i'm going to be at that arena. it really feels like we need to have left hours ago, but in all reality it's a 4 and half hour drive. and right now we're 9 and a half hours away from game time in east lansing.

the hoosiers will be taking on the spartans in this nationally televised contest on espn. it should be a decent ball game if a quality iu team shows up. but their play on the road has been mediocre, at best. however, i've got an interesting stat for the big ten. of all the big ten teams (including top 5 teams ohio state and wisconsin), there has only been a grand total of 21 games won on the road. naturally a good percentage of that is conference play, but that also includes non-conference. regardless, it's tough to win on the road in the big ten.

as for tonight? michigan state's drew neitzel has been streaking, and i think he'll play up for the crowd. look for him to be over 20 tonight at the breslin center. i'm also gonna go out and say that roderick wilmont and dj white will have very, very decent games tonight. rod will knock down some shots early and keep it close, and the hoosiers will keep going to dj late in the game. he just needs to stay out of foul trouble.

i'm going to call the upset tonight, and its an upset based on the location of the game. iu needs to win a big road game, and tonight is the last tough contest for them.

iu wins 69-64. look for some possible updates at half and at the conclusion if the media room is accessible.

he'll go down as the best.

baseball is just about ready to get started in full swing, and for this 2007 season, it looks like barry bonds could reach and pass henry aaron's all-time record of 755.

jeff pearlman, a senior writer for sports illustrated, wrote this great piece talking about a single moment in 1998 that would change the face of baseball forever. two stars met and went on decidedly different paths.

one will be the most talked about player for decades, and the other will remembered much less frequently, despite his impressive effort and enormous respect for the game.

here's to you, ken griffey jr.

auto club 500 picks.

the 2007 nascar pick 'em contest selections for the auto club 500 on sunday in california are (in order of current standings):

drew owen (10 points) -- jimmie johnson

"since a chevy hasnt won at fontana in the last 2 races there, i think a chevy is due, and since the only chevy's that have won there in the past couple of years are hendrick cars, im gonna call jimmie to win it"
--
geoffrey miller (5 points) -- jeff gordon

"i have to go with the 24 car this weekend because of the excellent performance at california last year by the dupont crew. gordon was in the top 5 late in the race until battery troubles knocked him back in the spring, and a miscue on pit road prevented the victory in the fall edition, despite leading quite a bit. enjoy that 24 in victory lane on sunday, boys."
--
trevor sager (0 points) -- matt kenseth

"Matt Kenseth will defend his Auto Club 500 trophy this Sunday in the Carhartt Fusion's 1st apperance of '07."

e.r. visit number 1.

beck 5 of read center -- at least for the "suburbs" side of the floor -- got its first emergency room visit last night with our voyage to bloomington hospital. the lucky fellow? kevin gorkis, aka "the naperville bleeder".

gorkis' fantastic evening started after getting a very questionable elbow to the jaw going up for a rebound in a one-on-one game against boston joe. some have said it merited an intentional foul, but others insist that "it's just part of the game". the collision left kevin with a gaping hole in his lip, which naturally allowed some quality blood-letting. (is this graphic enough for you yet? haha) eventually we got kevin over to the bloomington hospital, and about 1 and a half hours later, we were jumping in the taxi with some new prescriptions and a lip with two layers of stitches.

we were told it would be the size of a golfball in the morning, so if it is, be ready for some quality photography of that situation. i have a feeling kevin will be doing just fine, however, as the medication provided will certainly clear much of the pain.

nachos, anyone?

visual: kevin gettin' them stitches put in. credit:gm

finally.

well the hoosiers came back nicely tonight with a win at home tonight. was it a great game? no. was it a win? yes, and that's all that matters. ben allen didn't play as much as i thought, but he did add four points. dj white looked good all around the hoop, with quite a few fadeaway jumpers knocked in.

good stat of the night? the iu hoosiers forced 6 offensive fouls from the gophers.

good win, 71-59. not too far off my prediction. yeah, call me the swami.

next up: college gameday game of the week in east lansing, michigan against michigan state saturday at 9 on espn. yours truly will be courtside with a brief update or two. look for a preview on friday.

until we meet again, keep it realer. (thanks, chappelle)

keep it alive.

an article in today's indiana daily student talks about how iu junior forward ben allen is looking to get some more playing time as the season comes to a close. and i don't blame him. he's a decent perimeter player that can serve well in a 3 or 4 spot, opposite of dj white. you gotta feel bad for the guy that is trying to be converted to a position he has never played -- and having to do it at the level of big ten basketball. i think ben will get some more playing time tonight because he was even-keel in the michigan game and the hoosiers will undoubtedly get in foul trouble. don't boo the guy, give him a chance.

anyways, the hoosiers take on minnesota tonight at home where they are 15-0. the hoosiers should roll tonight in this must win game against the lowly golden gophers, but this team is anything but consistent. minnesota will come out with a big effort, but the hoosiers are going to feel at home tonight with the crowd behind them, and win easily. hopefully.

67-57.

visual: ben allen defends michigan's courtney sims during the 58-55 loss saturday at michigan. credit:gm

a fantastic partnership.

kelly clarkson is a hero to many. she's that singing goddess that graces the walls and plays on the ipods. she is the american idol.

for 12 year old girls.

nascar is a homegrown sport. it's trying to evade its past of chicken and beer, rednecks and racing. it hates its roots. instead of main street it wants to be broadway. it's an american confusion.

i hope you've drawn the conclusion to this point. yes, kelly clarkson and nascar have signed an agreement for clarkson to promote nascar in a number of ways. she's carried out two of those assignments already by doing a commercial for nascar and singing before the daytona 500. she is also in line to promote "nascar day", a charity fundraiser for the nascar foundation. yes, the american idol is now synonymous with nascar.

or at least that's the idea.

this isn't the first time nascar or its related tracks and partners have seemingly gone outside its social makeup to bring in celebrities. jewel performed in kelly clarkson's role last year for nascar, fergie sang the national anthem at the 2006 daytona 500, kelly rowland sang at last year's brickyard 400, the american idol losers have sang at charlotte for two years in a row, ruben studdard has appeared, and the list goes on. you can understand the natural awkward moments in the stands when the person is announced and a collective "who?" is heard.

sure, nascar is trying to be more diverse. it's trying to get a larger audience to watch its races and spend its money. it wants to be a mainstream sport and have it's super bowl have an event at the half-time show stature. but nascar is missing a very integral part of what got it to the level of signing kelly clarkson -- its base fans. i'm talking about those fans that spend their only family vacation time of the year to go to daytona or (insert race here). these are the "loyal" nascar fans that sponsors crave because of their noted product support for nascar sponsors. these are the lifeblood of nascar. but instead of loving this financial support, nascar is aiming higher -- too high in fact. and evantually, this alienation is going to take a toll on its foundations.

hopefully, the broadway push won't ever leave because nascar might find main street as a ghost town.

new look and feel.

i got tired of the basic template offered by blogger, and got tired of the title. so i got a new one.

let me know what you think.

enjoy.

gotta give the love.

so it may seem a little awkward being a hoosier and all, but i have to give some props to david teague, the shooting guard from purdue. he shot lights out thursday against the hoosiers and really ignited the boilermakers to the win. and now, he was honored with big ten player of the week honors.

david came from pike high school, and while i can't say i know him, my dad knew him pretty well from over there off of zionsville rd. in indy. everything i've seen, he's been a great guy and always a hard-nosed player. so here's to you, david, congrats.

pick 'em round 1 champ: drew owen

congratulations to drew "pb" owen on taking the first week of nascar pick 'em. drew chose david gilliland, the rookie who sat on the pole and led quite a bit early on in the race. the #38 m&m's machine scored an 8th place finish after having some troubles in the pits and rallying back late. i chose ricky rudd, who got caught up in a late race wreck and came home 26th, and trevor might have had the pick of the day until disaster struck on lap 150 when his driver, kurt busch, and tony stewart tangled while leading. busch wound up 41st.

the standings.

after round 1 of 36

1. 10 points - drew owen
2. 5 points - geoffrey miller
3. 0 points - trevor sager

up next: auto club 500, sunday 2/25, california speedway

daytona 500 monday recap.

some news and notes after settling down from a fantastic race.

- 8th best.
the finish on sunday with kevin harvick edging mark martin by .020 seconds (less than 4 feet) was the 8th closest finish in nascar history

- parked.
after flying through pit road trying to avoid a near wreck with about 15 laps to go, dave blaney ended up being the caution. thanks to gps telemetry, fox was able to show blaney traveling at 150mph entering pit road -- and he even faster leaving it. trouble was blaney had a flat right front tire, making the quick turn onto the track impossible. blaney took out ken schrader after the move that nascar was none too pleased with. they parked him for 5 laps, and then decided he was done for the race.

- yellow flag.
should nascar have thrown the yellow flag when kyle busch wrecked before the leaders made it to the start finish line? no way. i think you have to give race director david hoots credit for making the call to finish it under green. however, no love to the nascar spokesman who insisted the caution came out when clint bowyer's car turned over. if that was the case, the race would have officially finished under caution because the leaders had not yet reached the stripe.

- good tony.
can you believe the reaction tony stewart had after his wreck? i thought the shoe-in favorite to win the 500 would have come out fists a-blazin'. but instead, we got the humble tony everyone knows him as off the track. i'll call it now, there's no way he'll keep it up all year.

- ouch.
the jackman for the #31 cingular wireless chevy suffered a severe achilles heel injury in talladega two years ago, forcing him to be bound to a wheelchair and learning to walk again. he was back on pit road sunday, and appeared to incur the same injury for the second time. let's hope for the best for josh yost.

wow.

update: the unofficial results from daytona now list jeff gordon as the 10th place finisher. the official results should be released by nascar sometime monday.

nothing else describes that finish. harvick and martin down to the line. kyle busch losing it off of turn four. car after car after car piling up. clint bowyer crossing the line in his jack daniel's chevy not only on fire -- but upside down.

can you freaking believe that? it was just simply amazing.

congratulations to kevin harvick, but you gotta feel bad for mark martin. he's now 0-23 at the daytona 500. but ya know what? look at that guy. 48 years old and gets out of that car with a huge smile in his face. good for him, and i'm super glad he's not retired.

as rusty put it on nascar now "but doggone, what a great race." it sure made up for the struggles that the 24 had.

gordon finished 12th, which was incredibly remarkable for running way down in the standings through the middle part of the race. we'll go get 'em next week.

pick em updates coming soon.

at least i've got racing.

well, the hoosiers blew it. again. 58-55 to michigan. should stemler have shot? yeah. does this team have a lot of work to do? definitely.

it seems that mental toughness is a problem with these guys. that's all i can muster to say. my disappointment is just overwhelming.

but for now, the daytona 500 on fox. gets under way a little after 3 today, and that's where i'll be.

hopefully we'll have a happier update tonight.

go 24.