IndyStar.com: Sports
Indiana's leading news source for all the top stories, local news, sports and weather.
Brother's NFL snub drives Notre Dame's Clausen
Casey Clausen wasn’t drafted despite solid stats at Tennessee SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Jimmy Clausen thinks about the NFL draft when he needs motivation. It’s not the draft this April the Notre Dame quarterback thinks about, though, or...
Cardinals keep it close
Ball State clamps down on running game of Northern Illinois, but Huskies find way to win DeKALB, Ill. — Ball State, a team that hasn’t enjoyed much success this football season, played tough. But spunky simply wasn’t enough as...
6-11 freshman Muniru adds size, but can he play?
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For months, there has been a buzz on campus about Bawa Muniru. You can’t miss him. Not at 6-11, 270 pounds. The true freshman from Ghana wears a size 19 shoe to lounge around in, but prefers a tighter, size 18 when he...
Sophomore Pritchard works on his game
He started strong during first half of last season but tailed off BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Success came quickly last season for Tom Pritchard. He was the blossoming flower in a yard full of dandelions. As Indiana tried to recover from the mess left...
Girls Soccer Super Team Player of the Year: Brownsburg's Nicole Duncan
Brownsburg High School soccer standout Nicole Duncan has been named the 2009 Indianapolis Star Girls Soccer Super Team Player of the Year by a vote of area coaches. The 5-6 senior forward had 25 goals and eight assists to lead the Bulldogs to a third...
Boys Soccer Super Team Player of the Year: Zionsville's Harrison Petts
Zionsville High School’s Harrison Petts is a repeat pick for The Indianapolis Star’s 2009 Boys Soccer Super Team Player of the Year in a vote of area coaches. The 5-11 senior forward had 17 goals and eight assists despite missing time...
Patriots' Moss still puts fear into DBs
Indianapolis Colts cornerbacks Tim Jennings and Jerraud Powers, like most professional football players, headed home after their game last Sunday and turned on the television to watch NFL highlights. They couldn’t miss New England receiver...
Owens, Vick moves haven't worked
Little production from several big names in new locations so far NFL players often go elsewhere through free agency to “get paid.” Some just need a new home after a team decides to move on, or they return to an old one in hopes of...
Bad teams, angry fans, empty seats
It’s hard to follow your team when they’re this bad OAKLAND, Calif. — When the Oakland Raiders announced Thursday that Sunday’s home game against Kansas City would be blacked out on local TV, the news was completely...
The real showdown? It's Manning vs. Belichick
They sat there for hours, two football savants, sitting at a table near the pool at the Ihilani Hotel outside Honolulu before the 2007 Pro Bowl. Peyton Manning, just coming off his first Super Bowl, would move salt and pepper shakers to make a point....
Great debate: Manning's 2004 season, or Brady's '07
Both QBs prolific in getting ball in end zone Forget who’s the better quarterback, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. In all likelihood, each will go down as one of the top three or four in NFL history. Instead, let’s talk about who had the...
Colts-Patriots is NFL's best rivalry this decade
The Colts-Patriots rivalry dates to 1970, when the Colts were in Baltimore and the Patriots in Boston. They have played 72 times, with the Patriots holding a 44-28 series edge. The rivalry has heated up this decade, coinciding with the arrivals of...
Belichick loves the big-time showdowns
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It’s not very often Bill Belichick swings open the door to his brain and invites us to step inside and look around. But the man is in his 10th season as coach of the New England Patriots and during the years we have...
Big Ten the country's toughest hoops conference
The preseason conversations about how good the Big Ten will be this basketball season went so many different directions. There was the discussion about talent, with all five first-team all-conference players back. There was the discussion about Final...
Big Ten status check
Star reporters Terry Hutchens and Jeff Rabjohns update the conference and predict how the teams will finish. 1. Purdue (27-10, 11-7 last season): All the pieces are in place for a Final Four run. Robbie Hummel and the Baby Boilers are all grown up,...
Around the Big Ten
Vote for me (5 MVP candidates) 1. Evan Turner (right), Ohio State: He led the conference in scoring (17.3) and should pick right up where he left off. 2. JaJuan Johnson, Purdue: As Purdue’s inside presence, he could be the Boilers’ most...
IMS, IRL lay off more employees in effort to cut costs
Another 10 people in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway organization lost their jobs Thursday as the downsizing continued amid a stressed financial situation. The cuts were shared between the Indy Racing League and IMS Productions, raising the...
How the Chase is shaping up
NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup moves to Week 9 (of 10) this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. The race is at 3:15 p.m. Sunday. Here’s where the top drivers stand: 1. Jimmie Johnson (leader): After finishing 38th at Texas, does...
PFL title would mean crowded schedule for Butler
If Butler becomes league football champion, the university could face an awkward sports triple-header Dec. 5. Butler (9-0) is 6-0 in the Pioneer Football League and tied for first place with Drake. Even if the Bulldogs lose Saturday at Jacksonville,...
Royals freshman already has spotlight
Reimer draws attention from major schools ahead of high school Hamilton Southeastern High School girls basketball coach Chris Huppenthal would prefer to keep the spotlight off Taya Reimer as long as possible. The problem: Reimer’s tremendous...
Ritter girls win
Kayla Battle scored 19 points to help host Cardinal Ritter outlast Broad Ripple 57-53 Thursday in high school girls basketball. Elsewhere, Kelsie Ratliff scored 14 points as visiting Greenwood beat Brown County 46-33. . . . Junior Sarah Elliott...
3 sign with IUPUI
Three recruits signed national letters of intent to play basketball at IUPUI beginning in 2010. Donovan Gibbs , a 6-7, 215-pound forward from Louisville, Ky., and Indiana natives P.J. Hubert (Mt. Vernon), a 6-5, 190-pound guard, and Mitchell Patton...
On the air
Auto racing [chart] |4:30 p.m.|Truck: Lucas Oil 150 qualifying Speed| |5:30 p.m.|Sprint Cup qualifying ESPN2| |8 p.m.|Truck: Lucas Oil 150 Speed| [end chart] NBA [chart] |8 p.m.|Hawks at Celtics ESPN| |10:30 p.m.|Lakers at Nuggets ESPN| [end chart]...
Sorgi misses practice
Backup QB out a 2nd consecutive practice with shoulder injury Talk of quarterbacks — the Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning , the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady — has dominated the buildup for Sunday night’s showdown at...
Baskett can't outlive his 'Charlie Brown moment'
Hank Baskett has enjoyed some memorable moments in his athletic life. A football game during his sophomore season at Clovis (N.M.) High School isn’t one of them. It’s memorable only because his friends won’t let him forget his...
Rehabbing Mike Dunleavy rejoins Pacers practice
Indiana Pacers swingman Mike Dunleavy practiced today for the first time since February. Dunleavy, who is working his way back from right knee surgery in March, is limited to practicing in the halfcourt. “It’s tremendous that he was able...
N. Illinois tops Ball State in MAC clash
DEKALB, Ill. — Quarterback Chandler Harnish threw a touchdown pass in his first appearance in nearly a month as Northern Illinois topped Ball State 26-20 in a Mid-American clash on Thursday. The Huskies (7-3, 5-1 MAC West) won their fourth...
Inspectors find mice in Lucas Oil Stadium kitchens
_ Note: An earlier version of this story erred in saying WTHR first reported this story. It was first reported by WXIN._ Health inspectors have repeatedly cited a food contractor at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for critical food safety...
Pacers win 3rd straight
Team is back to .500 with easy win over Golden State; Granger scores 31 points Not even a field-goal drought or another starter going down could stop the Indiana Pacers from doing something that’s taken them nearly a year to accomplish. The...
Patriots' Brady is back to normal
Tom Brady is back, picking up where he left off after missing virtually all of 2008 with a devastating knee injury. Once again, the New England Patriots quarterback is pocket poise personified, the director of one of the NFL’s elite offenses,...
