Indiana University Men’s Basketball to play Connecticut in the First Game of the Empire Classic
The Indiana men’s basketball team will open the Empire Classic benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project presented by Continental Tire with a semifinal matchup against defending national champion Connecticut at 1 p.m. ET on Nov. 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Indiana and UConn have met 10 total times, including the last two in New York. The Huskies hold the series edge at 6-4. IU won the last matchup by a score of 57-54 on Dec. 10, 2019 in the Jimmy V Classic.
The championship game of the event will be played at approximately 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 20, while the third-place game will be played at 4:30 p.m. ET. Television designations will be determined at a later date. Indiana will be making its second appearance in the Empire Classic. IU defeated Washington, 102-84, in the opening round of the 2013 Empire Classic before falling to UConn, 59-58, in the title game.
The series of games will mark a homecoming for Indiana head coach Mike Woodson, who was the head coach of the New York Knicks from 2012-14. Woodson was drafted 12th overall in the 1980 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks and played with the franchise from 1980-81. He also served two stints as an assistant coach with the Knicks from 2011-12 and 2020-21.
UConn, the 2023 national champion, will be making the program’s fifth appearance in the event. Texas, a 2023 Elite Eight participant, will be making its seventh appearance in the Empire Classic, the most of any program. Louisville, guided by former New York Knicks assistant coach Kenny Payne, will be making its debut in the tournament.
Nov. 19 – Semifinals-1pm – UConn vs. Indiana and 3pm – Texas vs. Louisville Nov. 20 -4:30pm – Third-Place Game and 7pm – Championship Game
Indiana University Football player Andre Carter named to the Bednarik Award watch list
The Bednarik Award is bestowed upon the nation’s best collegiate defensive player and Indiana football’s redshirt senior Andre Carter is among the preseason candidates for the award. Carter enters his first season in Bloomington after five seasons at Western Michigan that included 47 games played. The defensive lineman produced 132 tackles, which included 28.0 tackles for loss with 12.5 of those sacks. In his career, he has one interception, three pass deflections and five forced fumbles. He posted at least 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in three of the last four seasons. His 2022 season featured 68 stops, 13.5 TFLs and 7.0 sacks. He added one interception, three pass deflections and two forced fumbles. His 2019 and 2021 seasons each included 20-plus tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in 13 and 12 games, respectively.
The Bednarik Award has been presented to the College Defensive Player of the Year since 1994 and is named in honor of Chuck “Concrete Charlie” Bednarik who was an All-American player at the University of Pennsylvania and later a multiple year All-Pro linebacker and center for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a member of both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame and was the last NFL player to be a full-time player on both offense and defense. The Chuck Bednarik Award has once again partnered with Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Phil Steele Publications as selection committee partners. PFF provides detailed metrics and performance-based assessments to selection committee staff, with several senior PFF analysts are members of our selection committee. Phil Steele’s College Football Preview is generally recognized as the most complete preseason magazine.
Semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced November 13, 2023, while the three finalists for the Bednarik Award will be unveiled November 28, 2023. The winners of the 29th Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show held on December 7, 2023. The formal presentations of the Chuck Bednarik Award will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards in March 2024. The Maxwell Football Club was founded in 1935 and is the oldest football organization of its kind in America. The Club recognizes excellence in performance at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of the game. The Maxwell Club is also deeply involved and fully vested in the community through programs to promote academic excellence, community volunteerism, and leadership. High school student-athletes around the country have an opportunity to participate in MFC Showcase events, free of charge, through the generosity of our corporate partners, Montage Mountain Resorts, the Buccini Polin Group, the ETC Foundation and the Run Around Inc. To learn more about our story visit www.maxwellfootballclub.org.
Michael McDowell wins the NASCAR Verizon 200 at the Brickyard
Michael McDowell executed a perfect fuel and tire strategy to get his first win of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road course. “It’s a dream come true,” McDowell said of winning at Indianapolis. “Man, we had a fast Ford Mustang. These guys gave me everything today. We executed; we did what we needed to do. It felt pretty dominant to me.” McDowell led 54 of the race’s 82 laps to win the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard, in a race that took just two hours and nine minutes to complete and had only one caution on Lap 2.
McDowell started fourth and stayed in the top five all day long, battling with pole-sitter Daniel Suarez and Chase Elliott. McDowell made his first pass for the lead on Lap 6 after a restart for a caution early on when Joey Logano ran into the side of Indiana native Justin Haley sending him into the tire barrier at the beginning of Hulman Blvd. After that restart it was green flag racing to the end, with McDowell being flawless in saving his fuel and tires, dipping into this road racing background having come up as a road racer in Formula Renault and even the Champ Car World Series before switching to stock car racing in the late 2000’s. McDowell last pitted with 34 laps to go giving him a long stint to last until the end of the race. Daniel Suarez pitted with him and Elliott at that juncture, but a misstep on his final pit stop cost him valuable time. He would end up 3rd at the race’s end.
In the race’s closing laps, McDowell and Elliott had to navigate lap traffic as Elliott tried to close the gap between, he and McDowell. Elliott began to close but ran out of real estate as McDowell kept his tires beneath him to take the checkered flag. “I was trying to pace myself,” McDowell said. “I wanted to save my tires banking on a late race caution, but when I hit lap traffic, I had to push the button and go.” With the win, McDowell is now locked into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with just three races left in the regular season. The Cup Series’ next stop is another road course in Watkins Glen next Sunday.
Indianapolis Indians shutout the Nashville Sounds at Victory Field
Backed by a pair of home runs by Canaan Smith-Njigba and Malcom Nuñez, the Indianapolis Indians pitching staff tossed a one-hit shutout to defeat the Nashville Sounds in Sunday’s series finale at Victory Field, 4-0. The one-hit performance marks the fewest hits the Indians (52-60, 19-19) have allowed in a game since Chase De Jong, Austin Brice and Yerry De Los Santos combined on a no-hitter on April 13, 2022, at St. Paul. It is the first one-hitter for Indy since James Marvel, Montana DuRapau and Dovydas Neverauskas accomplished the feat at Syracuse on July 24, 2019.
The lone Sounds (60-52, 20-18) hit came via a fourth-inning infield single off the bat of Keston Hiura. Beau Sulser (W, 1-1) led the pitching staff with six punchouts over 5.0 innings, and John O’Reilly, Yohan Ramirez, Hunter Stratton and Rob Zastryzny followed with 4.0 near-perfect innings to finish. Indianapolis got on the board in the fourth inning on Smith-Njigba’s 11th home run, a three-run shot to put the game out of reach against Caleb Boushley (L, 7-6). In the eighth, Nuñez then went yard to plate an insurance run, ending his day 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. The Indians begin a six-game road trip at CHS Field, home of the St. Paul Saints, tonight at 8:07pm. Neither team has named a starting pitcher for the series opener.
Indiana Fever fall at home to the New York Liberty
The highest scoring first quarter (31) and first half (51) this season for the Indiana Fever was not enough in Sunday afternoon’s 100-89 loss to the New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell recorded her 11th 20-point game of the season as she led Indiana (8-23) with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting against the Liberty. Mitchell also knocked down four 3-pointers on six attempts and shot 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. Fever guard Erica Wheeler contributed a season-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting and a perfect 4-of-4 shooting clip from the free-throw line. In addition, Wheeler dished out four assists and enters Friday’s matchup against the Washington Mystics with 998 assists for her career.
With her 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds today, rookie center Aliyah Boston recorded her fifth consecutive game with at least 15 points and eight rebounds on 50 percent shooting or better from the court, per Across the Timeline. The All-Star starter also dished out a team-high five assists and recorded two blocks. Boston is now tied with Tamika Catchings for the most made field goals by a rookie in franchise history with 184 made field goals. Second year forward NaLyssa Smith added 15 points in the matchup while pulling down nine rebounds off the bench. Rookie and former IU standout Grace Berger scored 5 points in 23 minutes. Berger went 2-6 from the field and 1-2 from the free throw line. She had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 3 turnovers.
Indiana was guided to its highest scoring first quarter of the year by Mitchell, who notched 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the court, as well as a perfect 2-of-2 shooting clip from 3-point range and at the free throw line, and Boston, who recorded nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor. In addition, Boston pulled down four rebounds and dished out three assists within the first ten minutes of play. A layup from Lexie Hull at the 1:14 mark gave Indiana a six-point lead, which was the largest lead of either team in a quarter that featured 12 lead changes. The Fever kept the advantage as the quarter ended, 31-29. New York opened the first roughly six minutes of the second frame with a 20-8 scoring run. The Liberty shot 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from the floor, while Indiana shot 40 percent (8-of-20) from the court in the second quarter. Despite being outscored 29-20 in the second quarter, the Fever recorded the highest scoring first half of the season, highlighted by Mitchell’s 17 points and Boston’s 11 points. Liberty forward Breanna Stewart’s 30 first half points powered New York to a 58-51 lead at the half.
With the help of a 14-6 scoring run, the Liberty opened the second half and took an 18-point lead on one occasion. Smith led Indiana in the third frame as she contributed seven points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor and dished out two assists. Indiana ended the quarter on a 16-6 scoring run and reduced the deficit to 12 points going into the fourth quarter, 83-71. Wheeler led Indiana in catching up to the Liberty and helped the Fever outscore New York, 18-17, in the final frame as she notched 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor and 4-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe. A layup from Smith with 59 seconds remaining in the game shortened the New York lead to six points, its lowest lead of the half, but a three-pointer from Betnijah Laney and two free throws from Courtney Vandersloot in response solidified the win for the Liberty.
New York was led by Stewart’s 42 points on the night and made her the first player in WNBA history to record three 40-point games in a single season and the second player to have at least 40 points against the same opponent multiple times in the regular season, according to Across the Timeline. With her six rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks, Stewart also became the first player to record 40/5/5/3/3 or better in a single game. Jonquel Jones followed behind with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting while pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds. Laney added 12 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Sabrina Ionescu added 10 points. Vandersloot led all players as she dished out a season-high 14 assists. The Fever return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday at 7pm to host the Washington Mystics and the game will be broadcast on ION.
Indianapolis Colts fall in preseason opener to the Buffalo Bills
The rain stayed away at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, for the Indianapolis Colts’ preseason opener against the Buffalo Bills. The Colts fell to Buffalo by a final of 23-19; however, it hardly is ever about the result when it comes to the preseason. Conversely, everyone had their eyes on Anthony Richardson as the rookie started his first NFL action in western New York. When the final whistle blew, the debut went about as expected—some good, some bad. Overall, it was a nice foundation set by the rookie as he played the entirety of the first quarter.
Three drives throughout the first quarter were led by the rookie in his debut. The first of which, not exactly going how he perhaps would have liked to have seen. After two short completions to begin the drive, Richardson faced some pressure, double pumped, overthrew to intended receiver Isaiah McKenzie, and turned the ball over for the first time in his young career with an interception. The third drive is where AR and the Colts hit their stride. Richardson was five-for-nine on that drive, including a 20-yard completion to Kylen Granson, and an absolutely beautiful throw to Alec Pierce that could have been a 34-yard touchdown but was dropped. Overall, both Richardson and head coach Shane Steichen were pleased with the debut.
The Colts did get on the board at the end of the first half, courtesy of a late drive that saw Gardner Minshew go six-for-six for 72 yards, capped off by a one-yard TD run by Jake Funk. Also noteworthy, Shaq Leonard suited up and was out there for the first few series with the starting defense. A sight for sore eyes for Colts fans, and a great feeling for Leonard. Certainly, it was a foundation building day for Richardson. He ended his day seven-of-12, passing the football for 67 yards, including that early interception. Steichen noted AR’s ability to bounce back, seemingly getting better and more comfortable with each drive. Minshew ended his day a perfect six-for-six with 72 yards through the air. Rookie receiver Josh Downs caught two passes for 29 yards. Deon Jackson rushed the ball six times for 35 yards. The Colts are back at it this week for training camp, including joint practices with the Chicago Bears at Grand Park ahead of the two teams’ preseason matchup on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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