LamarCheeks

Calipari didn't want to play the UK-IU series on campus, but Crean and Glass did. So why not do a three-year series with a compromise: Year 1: Dum! Center or Bankers Life Year 2: Assembly Hall Year 3: Rupp Arena Or do a four-year series with the neutral arenas as bookends to two on-campus games.

https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2018/6/13/17460076/ncaa-redshirt-rule-change-2018 You can now play in four football games and still redshirt. Interesting ...

Beilein staying at Michigan. Despite talking with the Pistons, I wonder how interested he was in the job and/or how interested they were in him. Either way, not a surprise to me that he's staying in Ann Arbor. https://www.freep.com/story/sports/ncaab/bigten/2018/06/06/michigan-basketball-john-beilein-staying-after-detroit-pistons-talks/677286002/

That pitch wasn't close -- it was 4 inches outside!

I've watched thousands of baseball games over the years, yet today I feel like I'm watching a NASCAR race -- one of those where the leader is way ahead, but is quickly running out of fuel. Can he make it to the finish line before hitting empty? ... Can we get through 9 innings without hitting empty?

Why is that even though we scored 9 runs in the first inning, I have a very, very bad feeling about this game?

The Cavs need Zach McRoberts. He knows what to do after rebounding a missed FT.

I don't think there's room for him. Perhaps someone with more intelligence or who's more well-connected would know better, but as far as I know, here's how our 13 scholarships will be allocated next season: Freshmen Phinisee Langford Hunter Forrester Anderson Thompson (rs) Sophomores Smith Moore Durham Juniors Green Davis Seniors Morgan Fitzner

He mentioned Clifton about 9:30 in. As far as I know, after signing Romeo and Fitzner, we're at 13 scholarships -- the limit.

Not scared of Duke, but we just played them. I was hoping for something different -- maybe Virginia. We haven't played them yet in the ACC/B1G Challenge. Would've loved to have seen Romeo vs. Kyle Guy.

I found it interesting that he went into pretty specific detail about the sophomores -- Al, Justin and even Race. Then, it was almost like he said: "Oh yeah, there's Clifton, too." Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but given Clifton's lack of PT last year and being barely mentioned last night, I wonder if there's some friction there?

Tracy Smith reminds me in many ways of Rich Rodriguez (minus the slimeball behavior -- and the lying). Rich Rod seemingly was at his "dream job" -- his alma mater, West Virginia, and he was doing very well there. But he became infatuated with the bright lights and big city that is Michigan football. And after lying about it, he bolted. How'd that turn out? ... Then, he took the Arizona job. He never did much there, then gets fired amid reports of workplace misconduct. It seems as if he'd just have been better off staying at WVU to begin with. ... Please, don't misunderstand me -- Tracy Smith seems to be a very upstanding guy. As far as I know, he never lied about the possibility of leaving IU and never behaved inappropriately, so those aren't the comparisons I'm trying to draw. But he had just turned IU into the top program in his home state and into the premier program in the B1G -- maybe even the entire Midwest. But he was drawn to the allure of the Arizona State program -- or maybe they simply made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Either way, If he'd just have stayed put, he'd probably be happier and we'd probably be happier. Lemonis seems to be a very adept recruiter, but as many have pointed out here, he doesn't seem to have a knack for developing talent. ... Smith took a football prospect from Middletown, Ohio, and turned him into a bona fide NCAA baseball star who is now a legitimate big leaguer. ... Many times, the grass isn't always greener ...

Gordon and White had some pretty decent talent around them. Unfortunately, most of those dudes were stoned out of their gourds a good bit of the of the time!

Saw an interesting tweet today. This is just the second time we've signed both Indiana's Mr. Football and Mr. Basketball in the same school year (Reese Taylor, Romeo Langford). The other? I had to do some research, but think it's Tre Roberson (football, 2010) and Cody Zeller (basketball, 2011). Though the awards came in different years, it's the same school year.

He's back! ... At least according to this ...

I predict he will make his decision either today or tomorrow!!!

This, from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. It was about Morgan and Carsen Edwards and their draft prospects. (Forgrave is Reid Forgrave, an NBA and college basketball writer for CBS Sports). I have not seen anything that has Morgan getting drafted. That didn't stop JBJ and Troy Williams from staying in the draft, however. Selfishly, I'd love to see him back -- because he can only get better and he can be the leader of what could be a really good team. I guess we'll know in a couple days ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morgan faces a slightly different calculus as he tries to decide whether he'll return to Indiana. Unlike Edwards, the forward was not invited to the combine. The junior's name doesn't appear on mock drafts and he was “only” a second-team All-Big Ten player in 2017-18, not one of the best players in the country as Edwards was. Morgan's list of accomplishments includes leading a 16-15 Indiana team in scoring at 16.5 points per game and averaging 7.4 rebounds. He also blocked 1.4 shots per game, demonstrating his two-way ability. “He's kind of in one of those positions where he's very good at a lot of things, but not great at anything,” said Nick Baumgart, who runs HoosierBreakdown.com and has coached in Indiana for 15 years. “So he's almost kind of like that 4A baseball player at this point.” Forgrave was more blunt about Morgan's draft stock this season. “I haven't heard anything about him, which probably tells you something,” he said. Baumgart said Morgan could play himself into being a draft pick next season if he improves his 3-point shooting – the 6-foot-8 forward shot 30.2 percent last season – and becomes a better athlete. If Morgan does decide to return for another season, the Hoosiers, who also added one of the best recruiting classes in the country, will likely open the season in the Top 25. Baumgart is bullish on the team's outlook in that scenario. “If he comes back, 1 to 13 (on the roster), they're absolutely loaded,” he said. “I'm looking at Elite Eight (in that case). I don't want to go so far as Final Four, ... but I think Elite Eight is very very attainable for them.”

RIP, coach ... There aren't many highlights from more than 100 years of IU football, but you're responsible for about 90 percent of them ... I'll never forget watching the Michigan State game at my IU apartment in 1987, knowing that if we won, we were headed to the Rose Bowl. ... I figured it was a longshot (particularly because our QB1 was out because of an appendectomy), but I couldn't believe that with just one win, WE WOULD GO TO THE ROSE BOWL! Thanks for the memories, Bill. Rest in peace -- you've earned it. Prayers to your family.

Gorski's homer went about 20 rows up.

Holy crap! I cannot believe we won that game. We were a dead-@$$ team for the first 5-6 innings today. And for all of last night.

Only have one word to describe our B1G tourney performance thus far (though 14.5 innings): Pathetic. Maybe "embarrassing" is a better word? There's still time to turn it around, but from the sleepy effort we've put forth though a game and a half, I'm not holding my breath.

Very saddened to see this. I was in school from 1986-91 (I was on the five-year plan) when we were pretty doggone good in football. Bill Mallory was the reason why. Getting Dave Schnell and Anthony Thompson to commit was a pretty big coup and got us on the way to being relevant in the B1G -- for a few years anyway. Prayers to Bill and his family.

I think allowing draft-eligible non-seniors to enter the draft, then return to school if they don't get a good evaluation or don't think they'll get drafted, is a good idea. But the timing of the deadline needs to be re-evaluated. I'm guessing most players have an idea of what they'll do and most coaches have an idea of what those players will do, but May 30 is way, way too late for a program to be learning if a player will come back or not. Why can't they have all this decided by April 30? That might be a tad early, but still, it's better than like it used to be: Either you're in, or your're out. I've read coaches complaining about this deadline, and I don't blame them. What if you have a kid who you think will stay in the draft, so you award his scholarship -- then he decides to come back? You've oversigned -- a problem. Conversely, what if you have a kid who you think will return, so you keep his scholarship open -- and possibly miss out on a talented grad transfer or other unsigned player -- then he decides to stay in the draft? You're left holding the bag. Having an open scholarship isn't always a bad thing, but since there are 13 (down from 15 -- what it used to be), you want to make sure you are making full use of the resources available. May 30 is not a optimal time to be looking for players. This, of course, is all just my opinion. But I think it really makes it tough on coaches and programs with a deadline this late.

Seriously? We blow two routine plays and give up three runs. That's probably the ball game right there. Welcome to the losers' bracket.

I saw today that a South Carolina forward pulled out of the draft, while a Georgia Tech guard decided to stay in. ... I'm thinking we should be learning something fairly soon regarding Juwan.