Category: Indiana University Hoosier (I.U) Sports (Page 13 of 31)
Indiana University Hoosier athletics
The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886, while 20 African Americans were massacred in Carrolton, Mississippi and riots broke out in Seattle over anti-Chinese sentiments. Nothing seems to have changed since the Civil War, extending into the present day. Statues are being torn down – it’s a good thing that Lady Liberty is on an island. Deadly tornados ripped through the Midwest yesterday with little bias over who was affected. I was home most of the day, feeling a bit under the weather, but this morning’s run and the accompanying sweat seems to have flushed the troublesome bug out. I wish it was that easy with racial bias!
We salvaged a couple of pool lounge chairs from a distant neighbor, saving the expense planned for next year. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. We simply now need to buy some new cushions and our outdoor furniture needs will be mostly complete. It’s difficult to get new stuff anyway with shipping backed up for months. This will serve our needs until something better comes along, a practical find for my wife. With a sunny forecast, I intend to watch today’s IU game on the lanai and perhaps take another dip in the pool.
I suffered another heartbreaking loss yesterday, to add to my sports frustration. The Portland Timbers lost the MLS Championship to NYC in a shootout, after a dramatic come from behind tying goal in regulation. IU, Timbers, Bears, White Sox, Cubs, Colts, Pacers, Trailblazers, Ducks, Illini, Beavers, and Longhorns – my long list of losers that I’ve adopted in our many moves from state to state. Little luck in recent years cheering for these favorites. Maybe Next Year?
I try to start each day with a little history lesson in conjunction with the number of my blog post. In this case, I take you back to the year 1884: “May 17 – Alaska becomes a United States territory. June 13 – LaMarcus Adna Thompson opens “Gravity Pleasure Switchback Railway”, one of the earliest roller coasters, at Coney Island, New York City. August 5 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor.” I also forgot to mention in yesterday’s ramblings that the Brooklyn Bridge was built in 1883.
I hope to get to Alaska in 2022, leaving only Maine on my 50-state bucket list of visitation. The cruise we are taking will make four stops in the vast territory that has now been part of the United States for 137-years and officially became the 49th state in January of 1959, 62-years ago. We then cross just south of the Bering Strait at Dutch Harbor into Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, ending in Toyko, Japan. According to the Viking Cruise site, only 284-days to go until launch in Vancouver, B.C. It will be a memorable way to see the high seas.
Continuing with yesterday’s rant, I am a bitter man about sports. This is nothing new, stemming from years of envy of other fans while my teams always seemed to fall short. I’m tired of losing to Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, and Wisconsin – not to mention every other BIG program. Purdue finally achieved #1 status for the first time in history, but I felt resentful. After IU basketball lost at Wisconsin for the 19th straight time, I also felt hopeless. There should be little satisfaction in knowing the the Boilers lost last night on a last second shot by Rutgers – their claim to #1 short lived. Yet, it brought a certain sense of relief, but only because I don’t know any obnoxious Rutgers’ fans. It puts Baylor in the driver’s seat with a chance for back-to-back titles.
In recent years, I’ve seen IU lose to Maryland for the NCAA soccer crown. I’ve watched the endless streak of victories by Purdue over IU in basketball. I’ve been through a winless conference season by IU in football, after silly expectations of a potential championship. Even the bucket went back to West Lafayette. I’ve witnessed the string of coaches that have come and gone at my Alma Mater after failing to be competitive. In the process, other schools have surpassed us in prominence and this has led to great anguish and disappointment.
We’re in the middle of an unusual week, with most of our routines out of sorts. There was no “Matinee Monday” or “Sunset Tuesday.” “Tourist Thursday” happened on Tuesday, so maybe a movie is in order for today. There are no real rules in retirement, so we’re free to be flexible with our days, but it’s helpful to maintain our themes so we know what day of the week it is. For my wife, bridge is now happening on Mondays, with tap on Wednesdays and Fridays. There’s been a hiatus on water aerobics due to her rib injury and pool accessibility. The cabinet guy is coming tomorrow (Friday) to discuss our office shelves, outdoor kitchen, and custom closet additions. Never a dull moment.
We’ll probably establish a new routine once the holidays are over and we’ve returned from Disneyworld. I’m already losing my enthusiasm for IU basketball after their 19th consecutive loss in Madison last night. Things looked so promising in the first half. My wife doesn’t understand why I get so wrapped up in this game played by kids – none of which has ever seen IU win an away game against Wisconsin in their lifetimes. I fear that “Game Days” on Thursdays and Saturdays will be filled with disappointment, as they have been for years now. Maybe she’s right? I’ve lost any contact with the school other than televised sports over the past 20 years, so why do I continue this troubled allegiance? I haven’t even visited the campus in five years and don’t personally know any of these kids that I rely on for a winner’s high via association. I felt it slip away in the second half of the silly game I was watching last night.
Why does it matter so much if IU wins or loses? Why does it affect me emotionally after all these years? I enjoyed the years we were winning but lately it’s led to despair. I need to get out of sports rather than be out of sorts!
As has become a recent tradition here on my site, I start with a little history lesson about the year of 1882, keeping pace with my blog post numbers. According to Wikipedia: “On, August 3 – The U.S. Congress passes the 1882 Immigration Act. August 5 – Standard Oil of New Jersey is established. September 4 – Thomas Edison starts the U.S.’s first commercial electrical power plant, lighting one square mile of lower Manhattan.” Thomas Edison has become a frequent source of innovative ideas in this era, some developed in his winter home in nearby Ft. Myers, Florida. He would continue churning out patents for the next 48 years before his death in 1931.
I bought our tickets for the ferry (Key West Express) from Fort Myers to Key West, as we make plans for traveling there in first quarter of 2022. We need to earn a few more Marriott points before booking our lodging for a few nights. We’ll then use the Vacation Club to celebrate our 21st anniversary on Florida’s Singer Island. Marriott stays will also be part of our summer drive to Mackinac’s Grand Hotel, with overnight stops in Petoskey, Cleveland, Canton, and Hilton Head, with more yet to schedule. We’ll end the year at Marriott’s Kaui Lagoons – Kalanipu’u to celebrate an early Christmas.
We had a WISH-TV reunion yesterday with two other couples at the Streamsong Golf Resort in Central Florida. It’s a unique location on 16,000 acres, hiding decades of strip mining activity. Streamsong was developed by The Mosaic Company, “the world’s leading producer and marketer of phosphate-based crop nutrients…” There is some ecological controversy surrounding the company, but at least they’ve created a beautiful, world-class site for golfers featuring some of the top courses on the globe. We had lunch and enjoyed each other’s company, leaving our clubs behind.
We’ll update our landscaping plan with a Zoom call this afternoon before suffering through what will likely be a disappointing evening of IU basketball at Wisconsin. After 18 straight losses in Madison, it’s hard to be optimistic, even through this year’s team has proven to be improved. IU’s 13-point opening BIG victory over Nebraska was overshadowed by a Michigan rout of the same team last night 102-67. Other IU opponents, after close games with us, also experienced decisive losses to ranked teams. Syracuse lost by 14 to Villanova, while Kansas clubbed St. John’s 95-75. This is a strong indication that the team is far from Top 25 status and still simply of average BIG talent. We’ll know more tonight! Ugh!
“
Once again, a Thomas Edison invention, the phonograph, is the highlight of the year 1878, while in 1879 he first demonstrated incandescent lighting to the public. Also of interest, “milk was sold in bottles for the first time and infielder William White plays in one game for the Providence Grays and in conjecture becomes the first African American to play MLB.”
Race results have been compiled from yesterday’s Tomahawk 5k and I finished 143rd overall out of 400 participants. My time of 42:24 put me 6th in the M 70-74 division out of 8 finishers. One woman out of 14 of the same age group had a slightly better time than mine by 8 seconds to top her division. She was also two years older to give her even more credit. I ran this morning with the #2 finisher in the M 60-64 division to stretch my personal streak to 4,725 consecutive days. “Run…Forrest…Run.”
It’s “Football Sunday” with hopes of breaking my Fantasy team’s losing streak. Da Bears have experienced a similar streak of misfortune that will probably continue this afternoon against the winningest team in the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals. Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, and Cincinnati firmly cemented their spots in the College Football Playoffs last evening. The Portland Timbers are hosting the MLS Cup with a chance to claim their first title since 2015 but Oregon State fell short in their quest to make the College Soccer Cup. It will be Washington, who knocked off IU, Clemson, ND, and Georgetown. Three of the four matches went to penalty kicks to determine a winner, while only Washington scored more than one goal in a 2-0 victory over St. Louis, bidding for their record 11th National title.
IU Basketball ended their sad streak of 6 consecutive BIG losses dating back to February with a much needed win over Nebraska yesterday afternoon. They play Wisconsin on Wednesday in Madison where the Hoosiers face a streak of eighteen straight losses dating back to 1998 when the Kohl Center first opened. The Badgers are fresh off a Maui (Las Vegas) Invitational Championship and a 13-point victory over Marquette. Wisconsin’s only loss this season was a 2-point setback #12 Houston in the Maui opener for both teams. Since 2002, the Badgers are 28-6 over IU. Prior to that they were 49-90 all-time. It’s not likely that this horrible losing streak will end this season, especially considering Indiana’s performance against Syracuse in its only road game so far. The odds are heavily against us!
A bit of history about 1872: “Ulysses S. Grant defeats Horace Greeley. Women’s suffrage: In defiance of the law, American suffragist Susan B. Anthony votes for the first time (on November 18 she is served an arrest warrant, and in the subsequent trial is fined $100, which she never pays).”
Each post now represents a year of “modern” life as we approach the Twentieth Century but still 149 years from 2021. Christmas decorations are starting to go up in our home. It was much easier to get the storage boxes out of the garage rather than behind the locked cages of last year’s apartment. We also have more room to display some of our collection. My wife still respects our informal prenuptial agreement of no excessive decorating, although I must admit that the lanai would be the perfect location for a tree. Am I getting sentimental in my old age?
Yesterday, was a great sports watching day even though my favorites didn’t fare so well. Technical difficulties prevented my watching IU soccer lose in the last minute to Washington in the Sweet 16. I could, however, clearly see the hamulating defeat that the football Boilermakers laid on my Hoosiers in the Bucket game. It had been ten years since IU went winless in the conference, and I had thought those days were behind us. From an IU fan standpoint, the day improved with both a men’s and women’s basketball victory, as was expected. The real excitement was watching Michigan beat Ohio State and Alabama pull off an incredible come-from-behind win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Oregon also beat Oregon State in the Civil War.
Today, the Colts meet the Buccaneers, a game that will have some impact on my Fantasy match-up, with Rob Gronkowski and Carson Wentz playing for the opposition. The Colts are riding a three-game winning streak, highlighted by Jonathan Taylor’s 5 touchdown barrage last Sunday against the Bills. Tom Brady and company have lost two of their last three as we head into the last seven games of the season when he is typically at his best. The Bears get the day off after a thrilling Thanksgiving Day victory, while I might leave the dark confines of my office to watch today’s games in the sunshine by the pool. Back in 1872, Columbia and Rutgers met in the first ever college football tie 0-0. It’s Sunday and Trash Day, but football comes first!
I doubt that I’ve done much swimming on Thanksgiving Day, but thanks to a heated pool in our new Florida home, I’m living the dream. I’ve been to many warm spots to celebrate the holiday like Isles Mujeras, St. Maartin, Maui, and Austin but I don’t recall spending a lot of time in the swimming pool. I’m grateful we made the investment, as I continue to get my money’s worth or at least reduce the cost per use. As I’m swimming laps, it’s as if I can hear the electric meter spinning. It was 55 degrees when I stepped outside to run this morning but the pool water was in the seventies, peaking at 85 in the evenings.
From a historical standpoint, the Great Chicago Fire happened in 1871, as I continue relate events to my daily post. According to Wikipedia, “the blaze started on the evening of Oct. 8, 1871. While there is little doubt that the fire started in a barn owned by Patrick and Catherine O’Leary, the exact cause of the fire remains a mystery. Rain put out the fire more than a day later, but by then it had burned an area 4 miles long and 1 mile wide.” Maybe a cow did kick over a lantern? “It killed between 200 and 300 people, destroys 17,450 buildings, leaves 100,000 homeless and causes an estimated $200 million (in 1871 dollars; roughly $4 billion in 2021 dollars) in damages.”
It’s big big day for college sports, as my Alma Mater, Indiana plays four times today in soccer, basketball, and football. It’s a weekend for rivalries, including the Bucket Game between Purdue and IU. If it had been held last year but wasn’t due to Covid, the Hoosiers would have theoretically trounced the Boilers, but what a difference a year has made. Purdue is favored by two touchdowns. Ohio State is a TD favorite over Michigan in their annual battle this afternoon for the Paul Bunyan trophy. IU Men’s and Women’s basketball should both win today, while soccer plays #2 seed Washington that may spell the end of their frustrating season, plagued by a lack of scoring. It comes down to the fact that if the Huskies score they will probably win.
Speaking of buckets, I did watch “The Bucket List” movie again with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. It’s one of those holiday traditions along with “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.” Travel has been restricted these past few years, so I don’t know if I’ll ever get to the Pyramids. Our Bucket List has a hole in it, as plans continue to be disrupted by worldwide disease threats. We’re still hoping to get to Alaska, Japan, Kaui, and Egypt next year, but we might be limited to just automobile adventures like our drive to the Grand Hotel with stops at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Football Hall of Fame, Biltmore Mansion and Hilton Head. Despite the setbacks, it’s still good to live the dreams of your Bucket List.
:
This is one of the greatest sports weeks all year long for me, ranking just below March Madness. IU basketball is padding their record with a series of home games once known as the Hoosier Classic. The Maui Classic is in full swing, although played in Las Vegas this year. IU women’s basketball has ventured to the Bahamas to cross paths with perennial powerhouse Stanford and a second game with Miami. IU soccer meets #2 seed Washington in the third round of the NCAA Championship. With regard to football, the Bears play the Lions in the Turkey bowl and the Hoosiers battle the Boilermakers for the Bucket. For IU, it’s the Toilet Bowl and the last chance to win a BIG Conference game this year.
According to a Wikipedia reference, “The first Thanksgiving Day football game took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Thanksgiving Day of 1869, less than two weeks after Rutgers defeated Princeton in New Brunswick, New Jersey in what is widely recognized as the first intercollegiate football game in the United States, and only six years after Abraham Lincoln declared the first fixed national Thanksgiving holiday in 1863.” One of my fondest memories of Thanksgiving was playing tackle football on a field dusted with snow with high school friends that had returned home from college to be with their families. Someone always got hurt! (See Post #746).
I like to call Turkey Day “Gamesgiving” because I’m often glued to the TV or actually at a basketball or football game. This year we’ll be at the beach but I will undoubtedly be monitoring scores. I’m not expecting much in the way of victories for my teams this year but every time I lose someone else wins, so I live to make them happy…thank you very much! Happy Gamesgiving!
