Friday, May 9. 2008Mini-achievement Hi neighbor! The only slight downer besides the pain experienced by the grossly under-prepared comes at the beginning. From my vantage point towards the rear of seeded starting corral ZZZ it takes longer for me to walk up to the starting line than it does the front runners to make it to the Speedway oval and the half-way point. As the excited announcer talks about the leaders rounding Tony's place, I adjust my various braces, my shoes, and my boys, and punch my Timex. At my breakneck pace, I could have started the night before and still not beaten the Kenyans. But the sardine-in-waiting start is well worth it. The great part about the Mini is all the absolutely wonderful and crazy volunteers including a couple of guys named Mitch and Greg and a host of local residents who tirelessly hand out water, Gatorade, encouragement, live music and entertainment to the self-inflicted sufferers. The path leaves downtown and then snakes out to the middle class neighborhoods, factories, and small businesses adjoining the Motor Speedway and then makes the return trip to the high-rises. But towards the end of the journey is my personal favorite other than the jog to the finish line: the Hi Neighbor Tavern on west 10th. Every year that I've passed this liquor landmark, the friendly bikers and biker babes, cheerful wannabees and dazed bar flies have belted out cheers and handed out adult liquid encouragement as the parade passes. This year I ambled past, deferring a brewski till later, listening to the strains of "You don't have to call me Darlin', Darlin'". As always, the Hi Neighbor delivers a smile. Time for another bag of ice and to re-up for next year. Friday, August 31. 20072008 Olympic CountdownLet me welcome you all into the experiences of an athlete on a quest for Olympic success. An athlete born and raised in Indianapolis, an athlete looking to stay, live, and train in Indianapolis, an athlete wanting to bring home an Olympic medal to a city rich in sport. What sport you may ask...Cycling. Track/Velodrome cycling that is. You will be kept abreast with my training, traveling, daily activities, and struggles associated with my life as an aspiring Olympic athlete. Your questions, suggestions, disgruntlements, opinions, etc. are encouraged. Friday, August 24. 2007Reggie rumored to stay retired
Here's an interesting non-story: despite some rumors to the contrary, it looks like Reggie Miller won't be coming out of retirement to play for the Celtics. Setting aside the fact that this could be a clever act of misdirection to make an announcement that he is going to play for the Celtics extra-surprising, we think there's something ironic about the possibility of Indiana's all-time best player becoming a part of Boston's organization since Boston's all-time best player became part of ours.
Sunday, July 29. 2007
Here at the End of All Things Posted by Andrew Roberts
in Sports at
15:09Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Here at the End of All Things
The doubles championship is being decided by a match tie-breaker, it's a beautiful 85 degrees, and I got a free sample of raspberry iced mocha from a starbucks vendor.
Tennis doesn't get much better than this. Tursunov crushed the starry-eyed dreams of 373rd ranked American teenager Sam Querrey last night, so he will face Canadian Frank Dancevic at 3:30 this afternoon. And until Friday, everything had been going so smoothly. But with the rain delay came a series of unlikely upsets and dramatic tie-breakers--- and since then it has been a tournament of underdogs. **** The Tournament Crashers Travis Parrott (USA) and Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) Win Doubles Championship Travis and Juan had never spoken a word to one another before they signed up as alternates for the tournament. Partially because Travis's partner got injured, and partially because they don't even speak the same language... but they won the whole thing. They showed up in Indy just hoping for a chance to get a match in and one thing led to another, and now Juan has his first title. He said that he doesn't even play doubles to win-- he just heard Travis needed a partner and wanted an opportunity to practice his serve. He's built like a basketball player at six and a half feet tall, but moves well for his size and has a monsterously devastating serve. "I just had to do the cleanup," Travis said. One more match to go-- and if you like poetic endings, the un-seeded Dancevic is looking for his first ever title, the first title for a Canadian in six years, and some justification for the 9 hour drive he made at the last minute just to have a shot. He's got one. Match is on NBC at 3:30 Wednesday, July 25. 2007Game, Set, Match, Drink.
In a sport where you could get publicly reprimanded by the umpire for being obnoxious, being late to your seat, boo-ing, snoring, conversing on your mobile device, or showing preemptive excitement, it is difficult to imagine much of a draw for Indy's college crowd. After all, I spent most of my college career doing those very things. Erm..except for the last one, of course.
But that's the new audience that the Indy Tennis Championships are trying to coax to this year's event. Tonight, Tuesday, is "Hub Night" an event marketed toward Indy's young professionals. There will be live music and drinks available after the Roddick match, but the $6.00 beers and $10.00 "Grab n'Go" martinis leave me questioning an earnest turn-out for the bash. I was told by the marketing director there will be drink specials, but neither he or the bar staff knew any details. Every night there will be bands following the night's showcase match, and Thursday is College night. They are calling it "Animal House Meets Tennis," a slogan which may have been created by someone who's never seen the movie (but heard it has drinking, twenty-somethings, and fun). The tennis alone is enough of a draw--- and as the after-party is free with admission, it's worth checking out. Just don't come with an empty belly-- hot dogs are a devastating five dollars; nachos $4.50 for those of you budget-minded consumers. In complete sincerity, you can't beat the ticket price at 8 bucks for a beautiful view of a beautiful game. Wednesday Thursday and Friday night the best matches are at 7 pm, and then the finals are on Saturday and Sunday at 11am. So my recommendation: come for the tennis-- even if you don't know the sport it's a really fun event and infinitely more exciting live than it is on television. They have a handful of fan-interactive events and tents that almost justify admission on their own. And you'll never have to worry about drunken jerks making a scene. So you come for the tennis; and stay for the party. If the bash turns out to be a bust, all it cost you was paying witness to an incredible 90 minutes of sport. Thursday, July 12. 2007F-1 to Indy: 'F you'
In a move that comes as no surprise to anyone, today it was leaked that the US Grand Prix will not be returning to Indy. Which of course begs the question: Who cares?
Tuesday, July 10. 2007Oden's tonsils to be removed
Looks like Portland Trailblazer (and former Lawrence North Wildcat) Greg Oden's summer league season is going to be cut short. Of course, so are his tonsils.
Tuesday, July 3. 2007RCA out, Lilly in
The RCA Tennis Championships have always been important to NUVO. Now, they are also a thing of the past. That's because RCA has backed out of sponsoring the event. Luckily, Eli Lilly has stepped up to the plate. Er... net?
Thursday, June 28. 2007Wednesday, June 13. 2007Indiana boys basketball names its second-ever female coach
In what may be a victory in the ongoing struggle for gender equality in the Hoosier state, Hebron High School has named a female head coach of its boys basketball team. According to the Indianapolis Star, this is only the second time this has ever happened in Indiana. Go us?
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Sep 7, 2008
Downtown
Booker’s art, which quickly gained notoriety when she first began making sculpture from the discarded rubber in the late ’90s, is breathing n...
Should Indiana retailers be allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays?
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