The Indiana Pacers advance to the Eastern Conference Finals The Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5, 114-105, to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year. The Pacers were down by as many as 19 points in the first half but fought back to take the lead in the third quarter behind a 19-2 run. “We’re talking about eight more wins for an NBA championship,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “The league is wide open this year. There are a lot of great teams, but it’s wide open, and we’ve just got to keep believing. We got a great group of guys.”
“It’s special, man,” Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said. “This group is special…. I don’t take this for granted. It’s a lot of fun, and winning is fun. So, we just want to continue to do what we’re doing, just take this a day at a time. Enjoy this one tonight but be ready for whoever’s next.” “You can never take it for granted,” Pacers forward Pascal Siakam said. “And for me, we had a great opportunity last year. Like, we literally where we were at last year. When we got in the summer, we talked about getting better. Like, this is the opportunity now to get better. To show that we took a step. That’s the mentality that we have going into the next game, is we have a real opportunity, and we can’t take it for granted. i can’t stress it enough.”
“We’re a resilient group,” Aaron Nesmith said. “We’ve been in that position hundreds of times now. We know how to handle 4th quarter runs. We know how to come back from behind. I think we’re just built for the moment, to be quite frank with you. We’re going to continue doing that.” Haliburton led the Pacers with 31 points and eight assists. The Pacers will play the winner of the series between the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics.
Indiana Fever waive Guard Jaelyn Brown The Indiana Fever announced it has cut guard Jaelyn Brown on Tuesday. Brown played in double-digit minutes in all three Fever preseason games. She played 15 minutes and scored 2 points (1-6 FG) against the Mystics, played 15 minutes and scored 2 points (1-6 FG) against the Brazilian National Team, and played 11 minutes and scored 5 points (2-3 FG) against the Dream. Brown played for the Dallas Wings last season, where she averaged 2.6 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. The Fever now have 11 players on their roster, which is the minimum number. WNBA teams can carry up to 12 players on their roster. Along with Brown, the Fever waived Yvonne Ejim, Jillian Alleyne and Bree Hall before the start of the regular season. The Fever starts its regular season on Saturday, playing the Chicago Sky at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Indiana University Indianapolis dismisses Men’s Basketball Head Coach Paul Corsaro For the second time in as many years, IU Indianapolis is in search of a new men’s basketball coach. “The IU Indianapolis Athletics Department has announced a change in leadership of the men’s basketball program, effective immediately,” the school said in a statement Tuesday, May 13, not mentioning now-former head coach Paul Corsaro by name. “A national search will begin for the next head men’s basketball coach.” This past season, Corsaro’s first leading the program, the Jaguars went 6-14 in Horizon League play and 10-22 overall. Corsaro was named the 11th head coach in program history in March 2024 after spending the previous four seasons at the University of Indianapolis. There, he led the Greyhounds to a 68-25 record and back-to-back NCAA Division II Tournament appearances in his final three years.
Indiana Fever Games to be Broadcast Locally in 11 Additional Markets Across Five Midwestern States TEGNA Inc. (NYSE: TGNA) and the Indiana Fever today announced an expanded broadcast partnership, with stations in 11 additional Midwest markets joining WTHR in Indianapolis to air 18 Indiana Fever games free, over-the-air to 4.6 million households across the region. Notably, TEGNA worked to add coverage in Iowa, with TEGNA’s WOI in Des Moines and WQAD in Davenport (Quad Cities), bringing Indiana Fever games to star player Caitlin Clark’s home state. Games will also air on TEGNA’s WHAS in Louisville, as well as stations owned by Gray Media, Sinclair, Allen Media, Coastal Television Broadcasting Group, and Block Communications, Inc. (See below for a full list of games and stations.) “We’re incredibly excited to expand our partnership with TEGNA and bring Fever basketball to even more fans across the Midwest — free and over the air,” Indiana Fever President of Basketball and Business Operations Kelly Krauskopf. “From Indiana to Iowa and beyond, this level of access is unprecedented in our franchise’s history and really reflects the surging popularity of our team, our players and women’s professional basketball.”
“We are thrilled to be part of the incredible success and growing enthusiasm surrounding the WNBA and the Indiana Fever,” said Brad Ramsey, senior vice president, media operations at TEGNA. “It’s exciting to see our successful partnership with Pacers Sports and Entertainment give an even broader fanbase opportunities to connect with their favorite team and players on a local level.” “Gray is thrilled to continue to provide fans the Indiana Fever games they want, free over-the-air,” said Sandy Breland, chief operating officer, Gray Media. “We look forward to an exciting season for the team and the fans.” Fever games begin airing for free over-the-air on May 20 when the team meets Atlanta on the court. Highlight matchups include encounters with the defending champions, the New York Liberty airing on July 16 and two games against the Las Vegas Aces, scheduled for July 3 and July 24.
The 18 games that will be broadcast under the agreement include:
May 20 vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m. ET
May 22 at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. ET
May 28 at Washington, 7:30 p.m. ET
June 3 vs. Washington, 7 p.m. ET
June 10 at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. ET
June 17 vs. Connecticut, 7 p.m. ET
June 19 at Golden State, 10 p.m. ET
June 24 at Seattle, 10 p.m. ET
July 3 vs. Las Vegas, 7 p.m. ET
July 5 vs. Los Angeles, 7 p.m. ET
July 9 vs. Golden State, Noon ET
July 16 at New York, 7:30 p.m. ET
July 24 vs. Las Vegas, 7 p.m. ET
August 5 at Los Angeles, 10 p.m. ET
August 7 at Phoenix, 10 p.m. ET
August 24 at Minnesota, 7 p.m. ET
September 2 at Phoenix, 10 p.m. ET
September 7 at Washington, 3 p.m. ET
Stations airing the games (subject to change) include:
Indianapolis, Ind.: WTHR 13.1 & WALV 46.1 (TEGNA)
Champaign-Springfield, Ill.: WAND 17.2 (Block Communications)
Cincinnati, Ohio: WXIX 19.2, 19.3 (Gray Media)
Davenport, Iowa: WQAD 8.1, 8.3 (TEGNA)
Dayton, Ohio: WKEF 22.3 (Sinclair)
Des Moines, Iowa: WOI 5.1 & KCWI 23.1 (TEGNA)
Evansville, Ind.: WFIE 14.2 (Gray Media)
Fort Wayne, Ind.: WPTA 21.1, 21.3 & WISE 33.1 (Gray Media)
Lafayette, Ind.: WPBY 35.1, 35.2 (Coastal Television Broadcasting Group)
Lexington, Ky.: WKYT 27.2, 27.4 (Gray Media)
Louisville, Ky.: WHAS 11.2 (TEGNA)
Terre Haute, Ind.: WTHI 10.2, 10.3 (Allen Media)
All games will be available over the air via antenna. Fans can visit https://wthr.com/feveronwthr for information on how to purchase or set up an over the air antenna. A majority of the games will be available via cable and/or satellite. Check local listings for specifics.
Indianapolis Colts to Host the Atlanta Falcons in Berlin Germany on November 9th On NFL schedule release day eve, the NFL announced that the Indianapolis Colts will ‘host’ the Atlanta Falcons in Berlin, Germany, on November 9th, for their upcoming Week 10 clash: The game will be aired nationally on NFL Network. While it was reported earlier that the Denver Broncos would be the Colts’ opponent for the international game in Berlin, there’s been speculation that Indianapolis blocked the league’s initial request—likely because of potential AFC playoff ramifications this season. After all, it was both the Broncos and Colts who were vying for the AFC’s final wild card playoff spot last year, and Denver delivering Indianapolis a crushing late season road loss. The Colts will host the Falcons at Olympic Stadium, which will have a 9:30 AM EST local kickoff—with former first round pick Bjoern Werner serving as a brand ambassador all week. It is the first time that the Colts have hosted an international game in franchise history, having previously been the road team against both the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium (2016) and New England Patriots at Frankfurt Stadium (2023).
Bodie Bender Leaves Mishawaka to Become the New Boys Basketball Coach at Elkhart HS Bodie Bender is very familiar with North Side Gym. He worked there as an assistant to Randy DeShone, when DeShone was the head basketball coach at Elkhart Central. In 2022, Bender brought his Carroll squad to the Class 2A Semistate. Two years later, he returned to the “Big Barn on Bristol Street”, bringing his Mishawaka squad to its first semistate since 1955. Now North Side Gym will be Bender’s coaching home, as he is the new boys’ basketball coach at Elkhart High School with approval at Tuesday Night’s school board meeting. “When I spent time there under Randy, I enjoyed being there,” admitted Bender. “I just always thought if this job came open at the right time, I’d want to entertain coming back. I feel fortunate. It’s one of the top 10 schools in the state.”
A Jimtown alum with family ties in the area, Bender is 111-62 in seven seasons as a head coach. IN four years at Carroll, he built the Cougars program, posting consecutive 20-win seasons 2021 and 2022. “I think we can get them to buy into defense,” says Bender. “The NIC is usually a conference where you play a little faster. I think the Carroll team had a style that we’ll want to us.” He moved to Mishawaka in 2023, where he took over from retiring Hall of Famer Ron Hecklinski. In his first two years, Bender posted consecutive 20-win seasons, something that had not been done since the legendary Marv Wood coached the Cavemen in the mid-70s. Now Bender takes over an Elkhart program that has had only one winning season since Central and Memorial were reunified in the 2020-21 school year. Coincidentally, last year Bender’s record of 5-18 at Mishawaka was the same as Will Coatie’s at Elkhart. As for Mishawaka, it becomes the third NLC program this off-season to look for a new coach. Wawasee hired former Tippy Valley boss Joe Luce, while Concord brought in former Jimtown coach Tyler Leighton.