Colts, Bears & Other Tidbits
December 14, 2017 at 4:10 p.m.
By Roger Grossman-
Despite the Colts’ poorly-constructed roster, these are some of the elite athletes on the planet. They are accustomed to running fast, jumping high and hitting hard. Sunday’s game looked more like a pillow fight on a giant pillow-top mattress. Guys were tip-toeing around, wondering if their next step would land them flat on their back.
As I watched it, I thought of professional golfers in the wind and rain at the British Open. Navigating those courses in those conditions is more about surviving the bad holes than it is making good shots.
It’s really frustrating, right?
I thought the Colts gave a pretty good effort given what they were up against. Think about it: they are on the road and outdoors (which are challenges enough for a dome-based team), they are assured of a losing season and no playoffs … and it’s snowing so hard the people on the north end of the stadium can’t see what’s happening beyond the 50 yard line.
Their effort was, at-least, professional.
The Chicago Bears are also suffering through another clunker of a season. But they went to Cincinnati, where the Bengals had a lot to play for, but a lot of injuries left the Bengals in the dust in a 33-7 romp. The Bears decided to turn rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky loose against the banged-up Bengals, and he looked like the guy Bears fans had been hoping for.
The only bad part is, by winning, the Bears hurt their draft position.
Speculation is running wild over who will replace Phil Jensen as the next football coach of the Warsaw Tigers.
First thing to remember is that this is ‘a process’ and the wheels of this machine will not turn very quickly. A committee of people from within the athletic department and the school corporation will choose the next coach, and that process will take some time to work through.
Second thing to note is that I have no part in that process, and I have no idea who is interested, or has applied, or who will get an interview. I’ll let you know who it is when that process is over.
It will be interesting to see who does apply and who ends up being “the guy.” Is there a candidate in-house who is a good fit, or will someone from the outside blow the committee away? All we can do is wait to see.
The Cubs have acquired two starting pitchers and a quality bullpen arm as the hot stove league heats up. They are classic Theo Epstein maneuvers: two guys who were not top-line, top-dollar pitchers. They are, however, three guys who fit the Cubs mold and it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see them being solid in the back end of the rotation and in the late innings.
Victor Oladipo didn’t really do a whole lot in Oklahoma City. He languished the shadow of an angry, bitter Russell Westbrook.
Now he is in Indy, and man, has he ever come to life! His 47 points in the Pacers’ overtime win over the Denver Nuggets Sunday night was further evidence of what kind of skill level he offers. Of course, it means a lot more to him and to Pacer fans because of his college playing days as an Indiana Hoosier.
The Ball State women’s basketball team is 9-0 this season. Sunday they hung 125 points on Oakland City, including 39 in the first quarter (quarters are 10 minutes long). I don’t care who they are playing, 39 points in 10 minutes is pretty efficient.
I saw pictures of men, presumably not heavily intoxicated at the time, ice fishing last weekend.
OK, fellas, I know you are as excited as I am about drilling some holes and dropping lines down through them, but it is WAY too early to be doing that yet. I asked one fisherman how thick the ice was, and he said “3 inches…I think.”
You think???
His justification was that the water in that channel was only about 3 feet deep. He also admitted that with every step he took, he felt the ice sag underneath him.
That’s not a good life plan. Please wait!
By the way, he showed me the bucket of fish he caught – it was pretty impressive.
And finally, Warsaw is going to pay tribute to longtime public address announcer Ron Henry at Friday’s boys basketball home game against Wawasee.
His booming “welcome to the Tiger Den … home of the fighting Tigers” still triggers goosebumps.
It’s important to note: there is no special or specific reason for this celebration – he’s not retiring from it and there is no milestone game coming up. The athletic department and school corporation just want to recognize him for his years of service.
It goes to a philosophy of appreciating people while you still have them around. We, too often, wait until people move away, change jobs, or pass away to express our gratitude and love for them.
Warsaw got this right.
If you’ve ever had your name announced by Ron Henry, Friday’s game against Wawasee would be a great night to come and let him know how much you appreciate him.
Despite the Colts’ poorly-constructed roster, these are some of the elite athletes on the planet. They are accustomed to running fast, jumping high and hitting hard. Sunday’s game looked more like a pillow fight on a giant pillow-top mattress. Guys were tip-toeing around, wondering if their next step would land them flat on their back.
As I watched it, I thought of professional golfers in the wind and rain at the British Open. Navigating those courses in those conditions is more about surviving the bad holes than it is making good shots.
It’s really frustrating, right?
I thought the Colts gave a pretty good effort given what they were up against. Think about it: they are on the road and outdoors (which are challenges enough for a dome-based team), they are assured of a losing season and no playoffs … and it’s snowing so hard the people on the north end of the stadium can’t see what’s happening beyond the 50 yard line.
Their effort was, at-least, professional.
The Chicago Bears are also suffering through another clunker of a season. But they went to Cincinnati, where the Bengals had a lot to play for, but a lot of injuries left the Bengals in the dust in a 33-7 romp. The Bears decided to turn rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky loose against the banged-up Bengals, and he looked like the guy Bears fans had been hoping for.
The only bad part is, by winning, the Bears hurt their draft position.
Speculation is running wild over who will replace Phil Jensen as the next football coach of the Warsaw Tigers.
First thing to remember is that this is ‘a process’ and the wheels of this machine will not turn very quickly. A committee of people from within the athletic department and the school corporation will choose the next coach, and that process will take some time to work through.
Second thing to note is that I have no part in that process, and I have no idea who is interested, or has applied, or who will get an interview. I’ll let you know who it is when that process is over.
It will be interesting to see who does apply and who ends up being “the guy.” Is there a candidate in-house who is a good fit, or will someone from the outside blow the committee away? All we can do is wait to see.
The Cubs have acquired two starting pitchers and a quality bullpen arm as the hot stove league heats up. They are classic Theo Epstein maneuvers: two guys who were not top-line, top-dollar pitchers. They are, however, three guys who fit the Cubs mold and it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see them being solid in the back end of the rotation and in the late innings.
Victor Oladipo didn’t really do a whole lot in Oklahoma City. He languished the shadow of an angry, bitter Russell Westbrook.
Now he is in Indy, and man, has he ever come to life! His 47 points in the Pacers’ overtime win over the Denver Nuggets Sunday night was further evidence of what kind of skill level he offers. Of course, it means a lot more to him and to Pacer fans because of his college playing days as an Indiana Hoosier.
The Ball State women’s basketball team is 9-0 this season. Sunday they hung 125 points on Oakland City, including 39 in the first quarter (quarters are 10 minutes long). I don’t care who they are playing, 39 points in 10 minutes is pretty efficient.
I saw pictures of men, presumably not heavily intoxicated at the time, ice fishing last weekend.
OK, fellas, I know you are as excited as I am about drilling some holes and dropping lines down through them, but it is WAY too early to be doing that yet. I asked one fisherman how thick the ice was, and he said “3 inches…I think.”
You think???
His justification was that the water in that channel was only about 3 feet deep. He also admitted that with every step he took, he felt the ice sag underneath him.
That’s not a good life plan. Please wait!
By the way, he showed me the bucket of fish he caught – it was pretty impressive.
And finally, Warsaw is going to pay tribute to longtime public address announcer Ron Henry at Friday’s boys basketball home game against Wawasee.
His booming “welcome to the Tiger Den … home of the fighting Tigers” still triggers goosebumps.
It’s important to note: there is no special or specific reason for this celebration – he’s not retiring from it and there is no milestone game coming up. The athletic department and school corporation just want to recognize him for his years of service.
It goes to a philosophy of appreciating people while you still have them around. We, too often, wait until people move away, change jobs, or pass away to express our gratitude and love for them.
Warsaw got this right.
If you’ve ever had your name announced by Ron Henry, Friday’s game against Wawasee would be a great night to come and let him know how much you appreciate him.
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