Dave from Dayton

I'm thinking strawberry daiquiris and tortilla chips with mango salsa to start. IU goes up and stays up. Then we kick off. JK, IU will be ahead at the half. OSU will only score twice in the 2nd half. Hope our offense is better. What will the OL and DL be like. QB's? Defensive secondary. RBs? Coach and game plan? Then bourbon?

Will David slay Goliath? It is about courage, belief in oneself, and overcoming impossible odds. No. The almighty dollar is in OSU's pockets. OSU 45 IU 20 This score is interpreted as a good day. It is about tradition. NCAA football is really, really fkd up. If IU wins, then the B1G likely will still choose OSU to represent the B1G. So what is the point?

Yep. That is your point. My point is that Indiana probably will not be in the top few of the B1G at the end of the season...will not go far in the NCAAT with the dearth of experience at the 6th and 7th players coming off of the bench to take the point or the 2/3/4. It is not about whether they can play the 1 or 2 or whatever positionless guard/wing spots. Sure, Galloway is experienced at both slots. and we can move all around. But how did IU do with Galloway at point? Smart and handles himself well. But is he a step slow? Or Gabe Cupps? Yeah. Green freshman really do not have an upper hand against experienced and talented upperclassmen. I have stated that I am most worried about X's position. I think that X is great. If he keeps his head, if he stays healthy, then IU has a great thing going there. Galloway would be pretty good at the 2 or a 3 maybe.6'4" scored 6.6 ppg and didn't attempt enough. He needs to create more and hit from out...get to the line more. Defend like his hair is on fire, again. But if either of those two go down we are in trouble. IU lost TJD, Race, Shifino, Geronimo, and others. And now Newton is undergoing a knee scope. He struggled with a meniscus problem while a senior in high school. Will he be available? I don't want IU to just get by again. IU seems to have reloaded out front. We need experienced guard play...backups. Again. Sure, by the end of the season Cupps and Gunn and Newton and yeah. My problem is trying to realize that the experienced 6th or 7th player isn't happening at IU. Certainly not at the PG. Those players have moved on to the pros or transferred. So go ahead and tell me again the swinging of the wings to the 2 and Galloway to the 1. That's the ticket for not punching into the Sweet Sixteen or competing at the highest level in the B1G.

"In today's game, it's not unusual to this size being able to lead the break..." That is not what I was referring to. Fast breaks anyone can lead. "..or set up your half court sets." My point is lost here. The point is that it seems that our 6'8" guy hasn't been leading the offenses for his previous teams. He is really good. Glad, very glad he is on our team. Excited! As a spot backup ok. But, slotting him in the PG position if X and or Trey go down is not something that rings true. Furthermore, names thrown out like Magic and Bobby Wilkerson from half a century ago are not compelling that our 6'8" guy is capable of filling a one position...as PG. Full time. No. And Bobby Wilkerson was not the PG. Mighty Quinn was. Remember him? Where are all these 6'8" PGs that are the team's best ball handlers, the court generals, the assist leaders on the teams the full season? I must be watching the wrong conferences. They have those guys in the Ohio Valley Conference? Is it possible? Yeah. Lightening can be caught in a bottle twice in a lifetime. Sure. Right. Probable. No. And I sure wouldn't be relying on it. Not if I was coaching. It is more likely that X or Trey get hurt. And I hope not.

My Indiana girl friend (now wife of 46 years) and I graduated in '77. Went to every. single. game. Bobby Wilkerson, The Mighty Quinn Buckner, Scott May, Kent Benson....and others. Heck yeah, we remember Bobby Wilkerson. Are you comparing catching lightening in a bottle like that team and Bobby Wilkerson to our current, untried 6' 8" guy who we have not yet seen on this upcoming team? And, yes, Bobby Wilkerson was touted to be 6'8" but was he? And yes, he was unbelievable. So, I do not want to see a 6' 8" guard/forward regularly have to bring a ball across the midcourt against a set defense in the Big Ten or post season. Not as a band aid. Do you? Really? And if he is even close to being as good as Magic Johnson, I will gladly eat my hat and will get up and sing with Martha the Mop Lady.

I'm pretty sure that Woody and the coaching staff are doing all they can to solve problems that they anticipate. Having said that, it does seem like IU is light on guards. I'm a stickler for having top notch guards and depth in those positions. Coupled with the injuries that we have seen and the fact of the long, long season and the wear and tear on their bodies... I just don't see the guards being sufficient. IU is going to take a hit here. And I hope to hell that I'm wrong. Hope to never see a 6' 8" guy bringing the ball down the court to get it in play with the opponents' defenses set.

Is it true that preseason is traditionally IU football's best season?

Drumroll please. Had my favorite Sweet Blue Brazilian roasted just a touch longer. Not to the 2nd crack. I don't roast it myself. Thinking about it. Have so many 'things' around here. Just bid on and won the bid for a pressure washer. Trying to bring out more chocolate and aroma. Beans look and smell great. Waiting...drip, drip... No bourbon in my coffee. Kind of like Irish coffee only Kentucky coffee? Maybe Kalhua...ok, maybe not maybe. Do like homemade mocha cheesecake or icing or...comon coffee... No to French Press, no to pour over one cup at a time. Freeze dried? You gotta be kidding me...that was back in the dorm. Taster's Choice? One step over those huge urns they had in the Navy.

It would have to be a guard that can distribute and make things happen. Is that X? Is that Gunn as backup? Is it Trey? It has to be X. He is the experienced PG that really has to excel. He is the starter. He has to get the ball across the line. He has to keep things moving to beat the clock. He has to have one step on the defender. He has to make everyone else look good. It would be a plus if he could hit some. And free throws will also be a key. He has to take the other side's PG and put the whammy on him. He has to keep his cool. He cannot get injured for significant stretches. There are lots of parts, and lots of keys. But the PG has to be really, really good. And he is an upperclassman. Make it so.

Is it the Huila?

I love my first cups of coffee early in the morning. Where did you get the beans? What is the type? How do you roast? Looks medium...which I would approve. Do you only cappuccino? I only drip. But I am seeing a doctor about that. Anticipating another 5 lb bag from Red Bird of the Sweet Blue Brazilian. Asked if they could roast it just a touch longer but not to the second break. Trying to bring out a little more chocolate. As to comparing it to other coffees. I am not the world's best in tasting and describing coffees. Having said that disclaimer...I do not like berry flavored coffees. I like caramel and chocolate with a nutty nuance. The best commercial coffee I have had are one from San Diego...I think that it was a Don Francisco Columbian...and a Brazil from Starbucks found in a grocery store. But they have discontinued the Brazil from Starbucks...and I hate buying a Starbucks. And those sit on the shelves for ever and a day. Try one roasted this week and ground this morning. I just use a cheap grinder and let others roast. My daughter cannot deal with drip and does other things to her coffee. Who knows what that is?

For those facing parents or loved ones with dementia...The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementias, and Memory Loss: Mace MA, Nancy L., Rabins MD MPH, Peter V.: 9781455521159: Amazon.com: Books This resource book really is amazing and helps someone trying to cope with what to do and who can help. I went to Indianapolis with two tickets for a basketball game in Bloomington. Stopped by my in-laws to check on them. Never got to the game. Gave away the tickets to a nephew. Did not go home for over a month. Ended up staying with in-laws. Escorted MIL to a routine Doctor appointment with a list of over 35 issues. MIL stated that I exaggerated things. She was in denial. Doctor was not a geriatric-trained medical professional. The last time that doctor saw MIL. It was hell. I did not become friends with my inlaws. But they did get in-home day care. And eventually I sold my FIL on assisted living because he understood that once he couldn't help her... Check out the book. Good luck. And very seriously, get HIPAA power of attorney, financial power of attorney, a living will, and check their meds daily. Do not take no for an answer. MIL said once her Rx ran out she did not need to refill them. FIL was subsisting on ice cream. And if one or the other gets depression and dementia...they really do need professional help. And believe it when I say, one person cannot provide the care some need. Give the caretaker breaks, regularly.

We have seen this comment before. But, I do not remember having seen it said by anyone on the coaching staff. Or, as I compose this, I do not remember seeing it reported by any of our current players. I hope that those on the team now will excel. Am hoping a lot about the individual team members and coaches. Like shooting improvements, defensive excellence...new players mesh with others...you know the drill. But why do you post the above? Is that your opinion? Is it also because it is late in the recruiting season? Is it because one would think that the addition of anyone with special skills and desire and work ethic and experience really would not complement or help the team? Is it because what we see is likely what we will get? I do not understand that position without an explanation. Of course you do not owe me one. But I am curious.

Ivan Renko Jr. from Ukraine by way of Turkey. Or from Greece...Dunken Dou Naughts.

That very well may be what happens. Change is inevitable. Not always for the better. These changes are reactions to the failed NCAA, the rise of student-athletes not being taken to the cleaners, sports marketing, and television/cable/streaming, and cheating for $$$$. Just looking at the stupidity of the seeding for the football bowl championship playoffs year after year gives me heartburn. Only the Alabamas and OSUs like that crap. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Good luck to the confederation of universities (at the top and those that don't have $$$$ that are being left behind) that are trying something...anything to fix what is broken. It is and will be a mess.

Friend of mine, an architect, after a tour there with his son...asked impressions. Son said "They're all alike!" Dad responded "yeah, brick with white trim like Williamsburg." Son said "No. The students are all dressed alike!" Think Abercrombie and Fitch and greek.

Miami (of Ohio) is too formal...in the mode of Williamsburg VA. Wittenburg in Springfield OH is pretty. My wife says OSU is nice...I can't find anything nice about that place. Duke is alright. Rutgers sux. Princeton is a must visit...old buildings and lots of trees. Penn State is really pretty except for the mule skeleton on display in the union. Wisconsin has the best site I know for a Union Building...a multi-layered terrace overlooking Lake Mendota...you can sail boats from there...and I did. And grab a draft beer and take it to a table outside. And ice skate...and I did. And here is a picture of Bascom Hill towards State Street...Thanks to Leon Varijan (Student Body President UW '79) ..he was my wife's TA in a class at IU. I also like San Diego State since one can walk from classrooms directly outside all year long. U of FL in Gainsville is nice. The UT in Austin is great. The U of Arizona in Tuscon is really nice. IU - Bloomington is tops.

Thanks for the tip on Nick Drake. Whoa... got some listening of his other albums to do.

For the last 2 decades the Hoosier's Men's BB Team and coaches have needed more than a little massaging. I can see that Woody could recognize that and that you're the Magic Man. I can only imagine that your massages are better than your game predictions. I hope that Twin-Barrel Rick's salary can keep him in a barrel of Preparation H and other suppositories as needed. Go ahead and dive in.

18. Best Female Singer...how can anyone pick one? I saw Diana Ross way back. Super! Grace Slick had some chops among other things. Saw her too. Props to Janice Joplin, too. Linda Ronstadt had my attention...one could say. Yeah. My wife loves Carole King. Great writer/singer, but once I heard her sing 'Natural Woman' I took her off my list. Aretha Franklin, Billie Holliday, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick & etc. Saw Dionne Warwick...must have been back in the 70's for the Little 5 weekend celebration (I think) and (was it?) Bob Hope introduced her in the Showalter Theater. I've seen Diana Ross and Grace Slick (JA)! So it is between them. Diana Ross wins in a squeaker. Who would I rather see? Diana Ross or Grace Slick (with JA) in their prime? Well, JA! Props to Martha the Mop Lady!

Props for Grand Funk: Mean Mistreater; Sin's a Good Man's Brother; Bad Time; Some Kind of Wonderful; Heartbreaker; and other too numerous to count.

I'm not through. Somewhere, somehow......Allman Brothers! #17...lead male singer: Robert Plant, guitarist and lead singer for Led Zepplin...way down inside, you need to agree. #4 Most relaxing album: Invitation to Openess..Les McCann...fell in love to this album. I call it improvisational hashish jazz. #7. Funniest songwriter: Shel Silverstein - Wrote children's poems like Where the Sidewalk Ends to make more $$ than writing songs. Silverstein wrote: A Boy Named Sue; On the Cover of the Rolling Stones; One's On The Way...Loretta Lynn; The Taker...Waylon Jennings; Once More With Feeling...Jerry Lee Lewis; Queen of the Silver Dollar...Emmylou Harris; Sylvia's Mother; Lester Flatt's lead song in the album..Foggy Bottom Breakdown is February Snow written by Silverstein...and others covered by Bobby Bare too numerous to count. Silverstein wrote over 300 songs including: Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout would not take the garbage out She'd scour the pots and scrub the pans Candy the yams and spice the hams And though her daddy would scream and shout She simply would not take the garbage out And so, it piled up to the ceilings Coffee grounds, potato peelings Brown bananas, rotten peas, chunks of sour cottage cheese That filled the can and covered the floor, cracked the window and blocked the door With bacon rinds and chicken bones, drippy ins of ice cream cones Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel Gluppy glumps of cold oat meal, pizza crust and withered greens And soggy beans and tangerines and crust of black burned buttered toast And gristly bits of beefy roast The garbage rolled on down the hall, it raised the roof, it broke the wall I mean, greasy napkins, cookie crumbs Globs of gooey bubble gums, cellophane from green baloney, rubbery blubbery macaroni, peanut butter, caked and dry Curdled milk and crusts of pie, moldy melons, dried-up mustard, eggshells mixed with lemon custard Cold french fries and rancid meat, yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat At last the garbage reached so high that it finally touched the sky And all the neighbors moved away And none of her friends would come to play And finally, Sarah Cynthia Stout said "OK, I'll take the garbage out!" But then, of course, it was too late The garbage reached across the state From New York to the Golden Gate And there, in the garbage she did hate Poor Sarah met an awful fate That I cannot, right now relate Because the hour is much too late But children, remember Sarah Stout And always take the garbage out

3. Angriest album (song) ever: Mississippi Goddam - Nina Simone (18) Nina Simone: Mississippi Goddam - YouTube 12. Favorite guitarist: (A very tough assignment to pick one of many.) Leo Koetke (18) Leo Kottke - Vaseline Machine Gun - YouTube 13. Favorite pianist/organist: My MIL Lucy (Johnson) Fritz, wrote the pep song for Earlham College, music teacher, organist for a church in Indy. Entertained family and friends. Could play any classic or pre-60's song you named...only stumped her once with the Navy Hymn. 16. Favorite songwriter: Another tough pick. Bob Dylan! 19. Single favorite album: Woodstock - The Original Soundtrack; Since my taste in music has evolved and is evolving...I really like the last 5-year question. 9. Favorite album of last 5 years: Kenny Wayne Sheperd (band) - Traveler. Sounds like something out of Muscle Shoals (ie...screaming organ, guitars, horns, chorus...gritty blues, southern funky Americana, if that makes any sense from a classic rock perspective...) I've got the blues; but I feel good.

Game 23 not 22...typo. These sims make me wonder what really will happen in the coming season. Still too many unknowns. Even just before tipoffs of each game there are a lot of unknowns, of course. What is the reasoning that XJ shot 2/13? (And then he gets 9/9 FT...) NW Defense at the PG? Cupps 0/5? Walker 0/2? I wonder, what is someone to make of this sim season?

Archie should be in there, somewhere.