Finally, Bankers Life Fieldhouse Is Rocking Again

It's been a very long time since sellouts were the rule as opposed tot he rarity at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Even in attending game three of the Chicago series last season the crowd was mostly Bulls fans who had come down from the Windy City. When I attended Game one of the Orlando series there were still large swaths of empty seats behind the basket.

Tuesday night was different, however. Coming off of a tough win in Miami the Indiana Pacers were finally rewarded with the crowd they deserve, and for the first time probably since the 2004 Playoffs, it made a visiting team wilt.

Dwyane Wade showed he was so upset over the Pacers celebrating slightly after game two that he responded by going 2 of 13 from the field for five points. As Mark Titus of Club Trillion Fame said:

@clubtrillion

Classy move by D Wade. He clearly felt guilty that he wasn't suspended by NBA for his flagrant on Collison so he suspended himself tonight.

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by Travis Miller • May 17, 2012 10:36 PM EDT

Charlie Weis Still Being Paid Millions By Notre Dame Football

Charlie Weis, currently coaching the Kansas Jayhawks, hasn't been with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish since 2009, when he was fired as their head football coach after five years with the team. Of course, they paid quite a bit to have him on staff back then and according to the Chicago Tribune and some tax documents it got on request, Notre Dame are even now paying a pretty penny to a guy who hasn't coached them for three years.

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by Chris White • May 16, 2012 11:03 AM EDT

Guy Fieri to Drive Pace Car at Indianapolis 500

At times, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been treated like a drive-in (you can still park in the infield) and a dive (see: Snake Pit), so perhaps it is appropriate that the host of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," Guy Fieri, will drive the 2013 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 pace car for the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 27.

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by Bill Potter • May 15, 2012 10:24 AM EDT

NFP: Colts Building Around Andrew Luck, Passing Game

From Greg Gabriel at National Football Post:

There has been much written about Andrew Luck. I feel he is the best quarterback prospect I have seen since Peyton Manning. He has many of the same intangibles that Manning possesses such as work ethic and passion for the game. It won’t be long before the league sees how good this player can be. Second pick Coby Fleener is another in the line of "new breed" tight ends. They are not really tight ends because they seldom line up as inline blockers. They are usually flexed out or in motion. Fleener is perfect for this role with his speed and athleticism and of course he has already played with Luck. Dwayne Allen is different than Fleener in that he is a more traditional tight end. He got a bum rap from some draftniks who said he wasn’t a strong blocker. Wrong! All they had to do was go back and look at 2010 tape when Clemson ran a different offense and they could see what kind of blocker Allen really is. T.Y. Hilton is a very fast slot receiver who doubles as a more than adequate return specialist. Going to a 3-4 defense, the Colts had to find a traditional nose tackle. They found their guy in Josh Chapman from Alabama. He should do a good job anchoring the middle. Vick Ballard doesn’t have any special trait but he is a tough and consistent inside runner. He won’t be the bell cow type but should be excellent in a rotation.

In case you don't know Gabriel's background, he's a former scout for the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants, and was (at one time) Director of College Scouting for the Chicago Bears.

The Colts drafted eight players on offense with ten picks in 2012, including two quarterbacks, two wide receivers, and the two tight ends mentioned above. That's a not-so-subtle hint that they plan to build their "new era" around Andrew Luck, Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen, and the passing game.

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by Brad Wells • May 14, 2012 10:51 AM EDT