Resilient Hoosiers

My beloved Hoosiers rallied around one another and played a tremendous game this evening against a tough, well-coached Michigan State squad. The Spartan spanking at Assembly Hall (80-61) in front of a national TV audience was, by far, the best collective effort this young Indiana team has produced. Kelvin Sampson is a dead-man walking, but he had the players focused for this game.

With their senior leader and emotional engine on the bench with an ice-pack around his knee for the entire second half, the team leaned on two freshmen perimeter players – Eric Gordon and Jordan Crawford. Gordon was dominant and Crawford was spectacular. DeAndre Thomas provided big play off the bench, but probably wishes he was 20-30 pounds lighter.

This was an impressive, total team effort. The Spartans were out-played and out-hustled, and that is not easily done against Tom Izzo’s team. The Hoosier’s offensive execution was the sharpest that I have seen all season, and this was the first time against a quality oppnent that Gordon played like a clutch, playmaking finisher.

Jordan Crawford made some highlight reel plays. I hope that IU does not lose him next year. There are moments when he makes stupid decisions with the basketball, but there are almost as many flashes of brilliance. This guy can be a big star in the Hoosier pantheon if he stays in Bloomington. I’m just hoping that this Sampson fiasco does not scare him into leaving early for the NBA or transfering to another team.

I’ll blog my thoughts about Sampson (this post was a “feeling” post not “thinking” post). Right now all I can do, and all that I have been doing, is echoing the question that Dickie V asked during this evening’s broadcast – Why?! Why, after the problems at OU and the second chance he was given at IU, a job far superior to the OU job, would this man commit the same mistakes and jeopardize his career? Kelvin Sampson’s behavior makes absolutely no sense. Not only has it cost him is job (at least I think it has) but it may have retarded the resurgence of my beloved Hoosiers’ rebirth.

Cartoons for Your Weekend

The Bank was Open Late

The first game of a critical three game homestand was played while all of the junk concerning Kelvin Sampson’s rules violations and dishonesty swirled around the program. The team played a solid game, but it was not enough to earn a win and remain within a game of Big 10 leader – wait for it – Purdue.

My beloved Hoosiers were undone by a banked in three point shot from a post player as time expired. It proved to be a fitting end to a pathetically frustrating day. The game was entertaining, but that is of little consolation to me. I’ll take an ugly IU win over an entertaining IU loss any day.

Even had the Hoosiers proven victorious the bad taste of the day’s events would have been left inmy mouth. With the lone exception of the 2002 season this program has been a nightmare since Boston College defeated the Damon Bailey led 1994 squad.

Of course, Kelvin Sampson is denying that he intentionally deceived the NCAA, and he asserts that he never intentionally transgressed the rules. Which means he is either a bald face liar or an unintentional fool. I’m not sure which is worse.

Here are some links on the (most) recent flap at IU.

Indianapolis Star:

• Bob Kravitz – “It’s time for IU to cleanse itself of the slime”
• Terry Hutchens – “Question of the Day: Can Sampson survive this?”
• Mark Alesia – “NCAA: Sampson lied to us”

ESPN:

• Pat Forde – “IU’s best action may be to suspend Sampson immediately”
• Mark Schlabach – “NCAA comes down hardest on lying about violations”
• Mark Schlaback – “Allegations of violations upset former Hoosiers”

USA Today:

• Marlen Garcia – “IU’s Sampson accused of major rules violations”

Couple these serious allegations with the recent retirement of the General Robert Montgomery Knight, and you just knew something like this was bound to be seen (and wished for by many in the IU community) -

Don’t hold your breath. I would bet that Coach Knight is enjoying this.

Can’t say the same for me.

Time to Throw a Chair at Sampson

In my lifetime the Indiana University Hoosiers have been coached by three men. One was a tyrannical genius who demanded disciplined behavior off and on the court, and ensured that his players attended class and earned their degree. He never cheated nor did he tolerate cheating. He won 662 games, three National championships, and a bunch of Big 10 titles. He also threw a chair and stuff, but he never cheated.

Mike Davis was the second coach of my beloved Hoosiers, during the past 35 years was. By all accounts he was (and is) a nice man, and an honest man. He led the team to an unbelievable upset over Duke in the 2002 Sweet 16, and within a whisker of the national title that same year. But he looked confused much of the time, in my opinion, and his substitutions and offensive schemes always had me confused. His era came to a close in 2006.

That was followed by the current administration of Kelvin Sampson. He fled Oklahoma for Bloomington under the cloud of NCAA violations. IU hired him anyway. His blue collar style and recruiting coups – keeping DJ White and luring Eric Gordon away from Illinois – helped consolidate most of the IU fan base behind him; including ths blogger’s support. (It also helped that he wasn’t Mike Davis.)

Sadly, Coach Verizon did not learn from his mistakes, and he continued to make the same violations after coming to Indiana. Now he has jeopardized IU’s most promising season in years, and perhaps retarded the program for years to come. The NCAA has revealed new allegations against Sampson and his staff, and has stated that Sampson…

failed to deport himself…with the generally recognized high standard of honesty…and…failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance within the men’s basketball program

That is according to this ESPN.com article. It’s always great to read the words “failed [at] honesty [and] compliance” when you’re reading about your team’s basketball coach. This has probably sealed Eric Gordon’s departure after this season. Depending on the punishment the university and/or NCAA gives Sampson and the program we could see a mass defection of young talent, as well as recruits begging out of their oral commitments.

I almost wish someone would throw a chair at Kelvin Sampson. I’m just glad that I’m no where near him and a chair.

Cartoons for your Weekend

What About Bob?

I was surprised last night to see scrolling across the bottom of my TV that the General Robert Montgomery Knight had decided to retire from coaching during the middle of the season. Coach Knight was the simultaneously the greatest coach and biggest jerk in basketball. I loved watching a Knight coached team play. The motion offense is the greatest offensive system in basketball. The man-to-man defense with zone principles (not just following your man all over the court) is the best defense to play at all times. Zones are for guys who are out of shape and lazy on defense (like me and my current state of (un)fitness). Coach Knight demanded hard-work, team-work, school-work, and excellence. I laud all of those principles.

Too bad he was an arrogant, foul-mouthed, sarcastic, out-of-control man who demanded respect but rarely gave respect. His poor sportsmanship far outweighed his community service efforts and compassionate acts (he did have them). His refusal to take responsibility for his bad behavior deserved punishment, and long before Myles Brand removed the icon from Bloomington.

I have always been an IU fan first. I am not and was not a Bob Knight clone. I do not now nor will I ever understand the many Christians who have defended his indefensible behavior.

I do not understand the timing of Knight’s decision. I don’t understand quitting mid-season when there are no underlying health or family issues. I also think that it is convenient he decided to walk away after winning his 900th game. His stated reason is to allow Pat Knight, his son and Texas Tech’s new head coach, time to adjust from the two chair to the first chair. No one will convince me that mid-season is the right time for that adjustment. Knight was simply tired of coaching, and he wanted to quit; as with all things, he walked away on his terms.

One characteristic that I admire in people is consistentcy. I strive to be consistent in all areas of my life. I’m not perfect in this or any other area, but it is a goal of mine. Knight is consistent in one area only: he does whatever he wants to do, however he wants to do it, and whenever he wants to do it. As Pat Knight, Bob’s youngest son and heir at Texas Tech said,

My dad did it for 42 years. He’s 67 and now he’s walking way on his terms. He did it when everyone least expected it, just like he said. (emphasis mine)

I don’t doubt that Coach Knight was ready to walk away. I understand that he has a full life with many other interests. I also understand that he has nothing left to prove. But all this was true at the end of last season. To walk away from his team in the middle of a season is unprofessional. It is duplicitous to chide the Texas Tech crowd for not regularly attending home games and then walk away before all the games are played. As always, Knight apologists will line up and defend his decision no matter what. Here is one example, provided by Dick Vitale.

I’m often accused of being too hard on Coach Knight, of being “ungrateful”, or of throwing him away like an old paper bag. Someone will usually say, “I just can’t throw away Bobby like that!” To which my rejoinder is always “So you cheered for Bob Knight University instead of Indiana University?!”

I will again, and for the last time now that he has resigned, assert that I am thankful for Bob Knight’s coaching genius. I am thankful that he led IU to three national championships. I am thankful that the program was administered with integrity during his tenure. You never read about Coach Knight making or allowing his assistants to make illegal phone calls. Knight knew and followed the rules, and he demanded that those around him did the same. He was no cheater, and he was just as concerned with graduating players as he was with winning games.

I applaud all of that.

Still.

There is no escaping the uncontrollable outbursts of anger. The lack of respect shown to anyone whom Knight deemed “unworthy” of even common courtesy. There were people dumped in trash cans, bull whips used in press conferences, shoes and fists used on scoring tables, kicks aimed at chairs that missed at connected with his son, players being choked, students being grabbed, and chairs being hurtled across the floor during a game!

Honestly folks, all of that drowns out the applause.

Bob Knight has retired as the winningest coach in Division 1 college basketball history with 902 victories. It is very likely that Mike Krzyzewski, his former player and assistant coach, will surpass that record. As it stands now, however, he is the king. The first 102 of those wins came in a six year span at West Point. All of the rest should have come at IU; instead, Knight earned 662 victories while at Bloomington. As coach of IU he had a winning percentage of 73%. Of his total wins, 73% were won while at IU.

I think it is a shame that Knight didn’t stay with IU until his retirement. I think it sad that he didn’t break Dean Smith’s record and then eclipse the 900 win mark while wearing a red sweater in Bloomington. The reason it didn’t happen was because the man refused to publicly, if at all, recognize his mistakes, repent of them, and then move forward. His complete lack of contrition is what led to his banishment to the back side of the college basketball universe.

It is sad that he left like he did. It is unfortunate that when one visits Assembly Hall the only vestige of Bob Knight is in the team photos of the national championship teams. It is sad, but the blame must be placed at the feet of Coach Knight. It is a shame that so many people, especially Bob Knight himself, are unable to recognize that simple fact.

How (or Why) Should a Christian Vote?

Gregg Jackson, a Boston radio talk show host, has written an article entitled “Why I’m Voting for Mike”. After reading the article I, in the best of Baptist traditions, voiced a throaty “Amen!”. You will find the article here.

As I read Jackson’s article I found myself saying, “This is what I’ve been saying!” For example:

Mitt Romney is not only not a conservative on any issue, he’s not even on the left-right spectrum. He has no beliefs. No principles. No backbone. No soul. He is a soulless creature who will do and say anything to get elected. I will not under any circumstances vote for Mitt Romney. Ever.

Amen!!

Oops! Is that violating the separation of church and state?

Jackson lists the reasons why he supports Huckabee, and then he supports each reason. Here are the reasons: Abortion, Marriage, Immigration, Foreign Policy/National security, 2nd Amendment, Taxes and spending, Special rights for Homosexuals. I’m sure that some of you, based on the campaign rhetoric to date, are surprisde that “taxes and spending” would be listed as a reason to vote for Huckabee. Isn’t Huckabee supposed to be a social conservative and a fiscal liberal? Here is what Jackson writes:

Huckabee is, by far, the most fiscally conservative of the three. As governor he cut taxes almost 100 times and left Arkansas with an $850 million surplus. While I have some questions about his proposed” Fair Tax” which is a flat consumption based tax that would replace our federal income tax, it is by far the most aggressive fiscal proposal put forth by any candidate. While Senator McCain did oppose the Bush Tax Cuts (b/c they didn’t include enough spending cuts), he now supports making them permanent. And nobody doubts his anti-pork spending bona fides. Romney, as governor, raised taxes by over $500 million dollars. (He called them fees) leaving the Commonwealth in financial turmoil. His government run socialist healthcare plan he claimed as his signature achievement has been exposed as a catastrophe in the making. And although he derides McCain for not supporting the Bush Tax Cuts, Romney himself didn’t support them either. (emphasis mine)

I could quote the entire article. I’m tempted to do that, but I won’t. I will, however, provide you with Jackson’s comment on “special rights for homosexuals”:

Huckabee has always been opposed to same-sex “marriage” and any special rights based on sexual orientation. Romney boosted funding for pro homosexuality indoctrination in schools, pushed gay adoption, falsely pretending that a law forced him to, and has been the more aggressive in catering to the homosexual militants than most liberal Democrats. He argued in 1994 that he could get more accomplished for the gay agenda than Ted Kennedy and made similar promises when running for governor in 2002. He called a 2002 Massachusetts protection of marriage amendment “too extreme” and is solely responsible for illegally instituting “same sex marriage” in the Cradle of Democracy. He also supports homosexual Boy Scout leaders and homosexuals serving openly in the military.

I do not think that Mitt Romney is cut out of the Reagan mold, which is how he is trying to sell himself.

This brings me to a touch decision. What if Mike Huckabee does not win the nomination? I could, with a clear conscience vote for McCain. What if Mitt Romney is the GOP choice? I cannot with a clear conscience vote for Mitt Romney. What then should I do? Should I abstain?

Absolutely not! In our system of government an abstention is the same as a vote. We actually have voice in our government. We select our law-makers and leaders. They are not selected for us. I believe that a Christian’s responsibility is to be an exemplary citizen, and that means, in this country, to vote. This is part of rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.

Now back to my tough decision. Several years ago in an online government course I had a conversation with a liberal classmate who took me to task on the issue of abortion. I had declared that I could not and would not support a candidate – regardless of party affiliation – who supported abortion, and I view bring pro-choice as synonymous with supporting abortion. The liberal asked me, “What would you do if both candidates were pro-choice?”

I didn’t like the question, and I didn’t want to think about the answer. This year I could no longer be idle in regards to an answer. All of the DEM candidates are pro-abortion. It seems that one cannot be considered for a office as a DEM unless one panders to the abortion lobby. But this election cycle had produced at least two GOP candidates (OK only one if you believe Romney) was pro-abortion. Rudy is pro-choice and Romney is whatever he needs to be in order to get elected.

I have come to the conclusion that the sanctity of life and the purity of marriage are far more important to me than tax policy and even immigration. That does not mean that those and other issues are not important to me. It means that they are less important to me. If a candidate is right on abortion and the family but wrong, or not as conservative as I’d like, on fiscal issues or foreign policy, I’ll favor the more important issues every time.

Last Thursday Dr. Albert Mohler’s radio program addressed this very issue. Here is the link to his show “Bringing a Christian Worldview to the Ballot”. I strongly suggest you allocate 38 minutes of your day and listen to the program. Dr. Mohler unveils the “Albert Mohler 3-Step Christian Voting Formula” (patent pending) during the show. Mohler suggests that a Christian voter apply the following criteria to any candidate under consideration:

1. Competence – Is this person up to the job? Does he/she have the requisite experience and qualifications for the position?
2. Character – Do you trust this person? Does he/she have the maturity and integrity to represent the United States of America?
3. Convictions – What are the policy positions of the candidate and do they align with your convictions?

That is a solid formula, and it is even alliterated! (Another indication of Mohler’s Baptist identity.)

Paul instructs us by way of 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do (this includes voting), do all to the glory of God. All of the Christian’s choices and decisions are accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ. All of the Christian’s choices and decisions are to be made for the glory of God. This does not mean that God favors one political party or candidate over the other. We live in a fallen world populated by fallen people (this blogger foremost among them).

I neither expect nor believe it possible for one particular party and/or candidate to “lead the country to righteousness”. I do believe that as a Christian I must do my very best to make responsible, Biblically informed, God-honoring decisions.

Congratulations New York Giants!

What a Super Bowl! Really the first three quarters were entertaining if you’re a football fan, which I am, but the fourth quarter was thrilling for even non-fans, which describes my wife. (I will say this, however, since we have moved to central Indiana Dianna has become a hardcore Colts fan. She watches the games and is interested in the final result. She never cared for the Bengals like this.)

I believed the Giants would be in the game, but I did not think they would win. The Patriots had proven during the course of the season that they could take their opponent’s best punch, shrug it off, and then deliver their own knock-out punch. I’ll also admit that I was rooting for the Giants with all my strength! Even though I loathe New York teams, I was pulling for the G-Men because I’m tired of the Patriots, and I wanted Eli to be vindicated.

The only thing that young man is guilty of is being the son of Archie and the little brother of Peyton, yet he has endured incessant criticism from the New York media and from former teammate Tiki Barber. (Are you still happy that you retired at the end of last season, Tiki?) To see Eli calmly and confidently lead his team 83 yards with less than two and half minutes in the game, knowing that he had to have a TD…well, it was sweet.

The Patriots had one of the greatest seasons in the NFL’s history, but their failure to close the deal ruins their record setting season. Patriot’s CB Asante Samuel said, “We conquered the regular season. We conquered the playoffs. What does it mean if you don’t win the Super Bowl? It doesn’t mean anything.” That’s a load of buffalo chips! Based on that logic the Indianapolis Colts are the dominant team of the past six seasons. They have the best over-all record during that span. But they are not the best team of the past six seasons. The Patriots are. Why? Because of the championships.

Congratulations New York Giants. You punched the biggest bully on the block in the face, and kept hammering him until he yielded. You are the champions, and you deserve the trophy. You also have earned the critics’ silence. Of course, that will only last until training camp.

Enjoy it while you can!

Cartoons for Your Weekend

Peyton’s Goatee

Here we are one day away from the Super Bowl and Peyton Manning is in the news, not because he is preparing to lead the Colts in defense of their Super Bowl title, but because he has grown a goatee!

Oh, brother!!

Speaking of brothers, Eli is preparing to lead his New York Giants to their first Super Bowl victory since the Big Tuna stalked the sidelines and LT wreaked havoc between the lines. You had to love those Giants. QB’ed by a Kentucky boy whose favorite targets were a huge TE named Bavaro and a diminutive WR named McConkey.

I actually like these Giants a lot more than above Giants; that’s not difficult seeing as how I loathe all New York teams. But I’d even cheer for the 49′ers to beat the Patriots. I’m really starting to hate Boston sports (although I wouldn’t mind seeing KG get a ring with the Celtics). I hope the Giants pull the upset of the century (remember the century is still young) by beating the heretofore unbeatable Patriots and their loquacious, hooded coach.

Do I think they will? Not a chance! I also didn’t think the Colts would come from behind to beat the Pats last year in the AFC championship game last year either. But…the Pats didn’t have Moss, Welke, and Adalius Thomas last year. Oh well, they play the game for a reason.