Area Scores of Interest

Elmhurst 37, Norwell 34 :(

Bluffton 65, South Adams 52

Luers 65, Woodlan 54

Peru 59, Wayne 53

Wes Del 66, Southern Wells 60

Harding 71, Dwenger 68 in Overtime

Marion 74, Northside 47

Snider 60, Dekalb 52

East Noble 66, Northrop 64

Jay County 60, Huntington North 38

Heritage 55, Concordia 53

Canterbury 67, Lakewood Park 57

Blackhawk 56, Bethany Christian 51

Bluffton vs. South Adams

14-11 Bluffton at the end of the first quarter. Cody Cochran for Bluffton has 12, I think, of the 14.

22-15 Bluffton, Brock Woodward hurt his ankle, Cochran has 17. Bluffton in foul trouble already.

30-19 Bluffton at the half. Woodward has not returned to the game, Cochran has 19 points.

Woodward still out at the start of the 2nd half... he is not even on the bench.

37-22 Bluffton. Cochran has 25 points. He's dropping 3 after 3.

47-27 Bluffton, Cochran has 28 points. Bluffton's big men are out, Woodward injured, Trent Herman with four fouls.

49-29 at the end of three.

54-34 Bluffton with 5:40 to go. Cochran with 29 points. Herman back in.

Woodward has ligament or cartilage damage to his left knee. Bluffton has the game well in hand. South Adams is starting to foul to get the ball... one starter just fouled out.

58-36 Bluffton, Cochran with 31 points with 3:something left in the game.

64-49 Bluffton, 30 seconds left, fouls every trip down the floor.

65-52 Bluffton wins.... but loses 6'7" Brock Woodward for the all important Sectional Championship against Bishop Luers tomorrow.

Bluffton looked better than Luers, but it's hard to compare since Woodlan's whole goal was to stop DeShaun Thomas and they were forced to play a very messy game.

Luers vs. Woodlan

Luers is up, 33-31, just after the half. DeShaun Thomas has only 2 points as Woodlan is double and triple teaming him at every possession.

47-46 Luers with 5 minutes to go.... Thomas still with only 2... Woodlan playing a "Diamond in One" falling in on Thomas at each touch of the ball.

56-49 Luers with 1:50 to go... other Luers players are taking up the slack for Thomas. Woodlan has a ton of fouls compared to Luers.

60-52 Luers with 40 seconds left, Thomas has 8 points... Woodlan fouling at every possession, trying to score with the clock off.

64-54 Luers with less than 20 seconds left. Woodlan players are starting to foul out. Thomas has 10 points.

65-54 Luers, Final. Woodlan was able to stop Thomas, but at the cost of many, many fouls and the scoring just moved to other, capable Luers players.

Haley Chaney Update for 2-29-2008

Haley Chaney's Care Page at Lutheran was updated this evening around 5:45pm. I will put the entire update at the bottom of the messages on the original post about the accident, but here's some current news (there's more at the links above):

Today during the speech therapy evaluation, Sara asked Haley to name as many fruits as she could think of. Haley responded by saying, “Pretzel… uh… psychiatrist… uh.… wow, that was weird.” We looked at each other and laughed so hard. Sara explained to us how the command goes into the brain. Haley understands the command, but when she is trying to process the answer, the connection is broken due to the brain injury. An answer, one that Haley knows is wrong, comes out. Just hearing Haley’s quiet laugh brings so much joy to my heart.

In physical therapy today, they had her sitting on a ball (therapist spotting) doing different activities to build up her core strength. When she was completely exhausted, Doug said, “Can you give me three more?” Haley said, “No, five more.”

I posted a few pictures [at the CarePage] of when she was in PICU and of her therapy session today. It’s amazing how far she’s come in such a short time. Again we give all the praise to our Father.

"Give me three more." -- "No, Five more!"

Mike Smith, of the Dave Clark Five, has died

Mike Smith, 64, lead singer for the British Rock Band the Dave Clark Five, has passed away from pneumonia at age 64. I did not realize that he was paralyzed in a fall in 2003 and has been in the hospital since.

Can Bluffton Beat Bishop Luers

A nice article in the Berne Tri-Weekly about the Adams Central (0-20) vs. Bluffton (22-0) game on Wednesday.

[Bluffton Coach Wayne] Barker was asked what separates a team from going undefeated, as his team has done thus far, and a team that manages to go an entire season without tasting victory.

"We've been lucky at times, and I don't mean to discount our players' talents, because we've got good players, but there have just been times that we've been fortunate," he said.

Perhaps Coach Barker was just being generous in the interview, and sensitive to Adams Centrals' fans. But, in fact, Bluffton has been lucky, taking a couple of very close games it might not have taken on another night. There was a nice article in the Banner a few years ago about Big Wells County Games of the past, it's the type of article local newspapers should pursue more often to help their bottom line. Luers isn't a Wells County team, but Wells County residents are students there. This will be one of those Big Games.

Anyway, it's perhaps dangerous to assume that Bluffton will get past South Adams and Luers will get past Woodlan to face each other on Saturday, but let's be dangerous. Can Bluffton Beat Bishop Luers? Can number 1 defeat number 3? Bishop Luers is averaging nearly 73 points a game and has won their last eight games. Bluffton is averaging about 60 points a game and has won all their games. But to whom did Luers lose? Luers lost three games on the season 1) 4A South Side by 2 points, 2) 3A Indianapolis Howe by 16 points, and 3) 3A Harding by 10 points. All three are tough teams above the 2A level with winning seasons.

Luers had only three games all season at the 2A, 1A level (2A Woodlan, 1A Canterbury and 1A Blackhawk). Luers crushed Woodlan 69-46 and Canterbury 82-42. Bluffton, on the other hand, had only 1 4A contest this year (9-12 Connersville) compared to Luers 7 4A match ups. Bluffton had 11 games against 2A and 1A opponents. In fact, of all of Bluffton's 22 wins this season only Leo (11-10), Northfield (12-8) and Southwood (12-9) are over .500 this year... Leo barely qualifies at 11-10 and counts as one of Bluffton's lucky wins. Of Luers' 18 wins, 11 were against teams that are over .500. Luers, despite the three losses, seems far more battle-tested that Bluffton.

Lastly, in that article above about "Big Wells County Games of the Past," take note of the 1965 game between Ossian (17-1) vs. Garrett (17-1). The game that had to be moved to the Coliseum in Ft. Wayne because the Ossian Gym could not hold the over 8000 fans who showed up to watch. Ossian could not stop Chuck Bavis (who went on to star at Purdue with Rick Mount) and ended up losing in a blowout (87-56).

Who in the Bluffton lineup is going to stop the Mr. Basketball bound DeShaun Thomas.

WFFT Fox Fort Wayne and HD

Since they are supposedly broadcasting their digital, HD signal, I occasionally rescan the Dish for local channels, looking for WFFT Fox Fort Wayne to show up in my HD list, but so far, nothing... here's what they have to say:

Q: When will WFFT FOX Fort Wayne broadcast HD in Full Power?

A: Based on the information we have right now, the conversion to full power HD will happen around the Summer of 2008.


Q:  I'm having trouble receiving your HD signal.  What's up?

A:  Since we won't be broadcasting our HD signal at Full Power until later this year, the closer you live to our station, the better.

There are some other things to consider.  Your chances of receiving our HD signal are better if you have an outdoor antenna instead of an indoor antenna.  Also, some viewers have told us they cannot get our HD signal on digital channel 36-1 or 36-2, but can get it on 36-3.

Verizon FiOS carries the FOX digital signal on channel 805 and Comcast carries it on channel 234... you may need to buy an HD package, though, to get those.  Looks like we'll have to wait until summer for the freebie to be online.

Pacers CEO Wants you to know

The Pacers' CEO, Donnie Walsh (is this the Donnie who's always calling in on Bob and Tom?) wants you to know,

"We want our franchise to stand for the right things."

But when asked about releasing players who associate with criminals (and paying off their huge contracts), Walsh adds,

"I don't expect the franchise to have to suffer financially because a guy made a stupid decision.  We try not to do that... we may have to do that."

Bird also said that if Williams doesn't change his ways, "he won't be here." 

I'm sure IU didn't want to pay off Sampson's contract, either -- but if you want the world to think you "stand for the right things," you every once in a while have to "do the right thing."  Bird says in the article that he has counseled Williams a hundred times about associating with the right people.  Perhaps it's difficult for any young millionaire to listen... but take away the fame, if not immediately the fortune, and perhaps he will.

Haley Chaney Update for 2-28-2008

Haley Chaney's Care Page at Lutheran was updated this evening around 9:30pm. I will put the entire update at the bottom of the messages on the original post about the accident, but here's some current news (there's more at the links above):

The move to Parkview went smooth. It wasn't until yesterday that I realized unless Haley wanted to be transported to Parkview in a thin hospital gown, she would need some clothes. Thank you Eden for packing your sister a bag! Haley thoroughly enjoyed putting on her sweats, t-shirt and ball shoes. Today was the first time she had been outside in 16 days. The cold air was refreshing on her face.

She met her new therapists and liked all of them. She did say that she's not looking forward to tomorrow. I know she is somewhat intimidated by the long hours of therapy when she is still so tired. When asked what her goals were by the therapists, she said to compete in sports and get strong abs. I think they were thinking more on the lines of being able to walk, talk, problem solve, etc.

Therapists are doing their assessments today and tomorrow. They will put together a rehab plan for Haley and establish tentative long and short-term goals. It's amazing what she remembers. The only thing she had trouble with today was the month, day and year.

This is such good news and so welcome to hear. Almost anyone spending upwards of two weeks in the hospital might have the same trouble with the date... hospitals are places where Time alters beneath us.

I've heard it said that habits take 30 days to form... two more weeks of prayer will fill out those 30 days and lock us into a ritual of daily prayer... Keep it up!

Bob Knight gets a New Gig

Bob Knight has been hired by ESPN as an analyst for this year's NCAA Tournament.

Homeless Idol Comes to Town

The Journal-Gazette is reporting that Josiah Leming, the American Idol guy who was living out of his car (and who was so very upset when he was cut), is coming to Fort Wayne to get a free, 2000 Pontiac Bonneville from Glenbook Hyundai.  He'll give a concert, too, but that's all sold out.

Leming captured the attention of "Idol" viewers when cameras revealed the then-17-year-old was living out of his now-defunct car during the Atlanta auditions.

He dropped out of high school at 17 to drive around the Southeast and Midwest for gigs and to wait tables. His mother has terminal cancer. His father is out of work.

Leming is the second-oldest of his parents' nine children.

How about that. 
 

FBI to investigate Clemens

The FBI is investigating whether a baseball pitcher lied about taking drugs?  The next thing you know, they'll be investigating what people are doing inside video games... oh wait.... they already are.

It's not as if there's a global war going on or anything.  It's not as if there are terrorists probing America's weaknesses or anything.

Buddy Miles has died

The voice of "Buddy Raisin" singing "I heard it through the Grapevine" from the famous "California Raisins," Buddy Miles has died. Miles played with Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Wilson Pickett and many others.

IU girls luck out

Officials awarded the IU women's team a disqualified free throw point in their game against Ohio State Monday.  The game ended in a tie and IU won in OT.   The Ohio State women have won the last four Big 10 titles, but are now tied for the lead this year with  Iowa  based on the faulty loss to IU.

Indy Road Rage

A passenger was shot last night on I-465 East down in Indy.  Police are looking for a green Chevy Lumina.

Is McCain Natural-Born

So I read on the Internet that the New York Times is troubled because John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone and only "Natural-born citizens" are allowed to be President of the USA. Not everything you read on the Internet is true, of course, and the Times can look this up as easily as I can.

Congress passed a law in 1790 that gave natural-born citizenship to children of US Citizens born overseas. McCain's father was a Hoosier and an eventual Admiral in the US Navy, he was stationed in the Canal Zone when Senator McCain was born. The Times is wasting paper with this one, McCain is obviously eligible.

Pacer Troubles Increase

Pacer Shawne Williams was apparently harboring a murder suspect. The suspected murderer, a friend of Williams from Tennessee, was seen leaving the Pacer player's home and was caught hiding in Williams' car.

Williams, if you remember, was arrested last Fall for driving without ever (in his life) having a driver's license and the friends he was with had unlicensed guns.

Larry Byrd and the Pacers should have dropped this guy last year for his criminal associations, now Byrd gets to watch the team being dragged through the muck again.

Update: Pacers drawing unwanted attention (read the whole thing, it includes the Daniels rape incident, as well)...

"We've got to be very clear about this - we don't want our players hanging around murderers," team president Larry Bird said.

Is a one game suspension "clear" enough.

Big Game Hunters

Did he really need that giant scope on his rifle? The darn thing was eight feet tall at least, not counting the bushy tail.

Redneck Mansion

You know, there's times where a home like this would really solve a lot of problems. The kids get not only their own room, but their own home. You don't need one of those costly playground sets cause the kids can just climb about the house. It's inexpensive, easy to remodel, easy to repair or replace. Redneck Mansion -- sure, but who wouldn't want their own?

Purdue vs. Minnesota

Purdue is up at the half thanks to half-court shot at the buzzer. Minnesota is in 6th place in the Big 10 and Purdue is looking for this win to regain their share of the Big 10 Lead with IU and Wisconsin.

Purdue wins going away, 65-53. Not great shooting, but Purdue looked good. They're back on top with IU and Wisconsin.

Bluffton takes another step

Bluffton 49, Adams Central 26. Bluffton faces South Adams on Friday. When they faced off against each other early in the season, Bluffton won by 9 (74-63)

The Hobart Incident

I'm not sure what's going on lately with Police, but the incident up in Hobart, which happened last summer but is only now getting to court, is just as disturbing as the as the police dumping the disabled man out of his wheelchair down in Florida and the police strip searching the woman who called them for help in Ohio.  In the Hobart incident, up near Gary, the Olig family called the police because someone kept speeding up and down their street.  The whole thing is captured on video which you can see for yourself at the link at the top, but before it was over the Police and cold-cocked Mrs. Olig in the face, pulled a gun on her, took the whole family down onto the ground and arrested them all.

Even if the Oligs were mouthy (there's no sound on the tape), I can't see what would have caused a full grown male cop to punch a mother square in the face and knock her for a flat out loop in front of her kids, let alone end up pulling a gun on the family who called them for help.

Haley Chaney Update for 2-27-2008

Haley Chaney's Care Page at Lutheran was updated this afternoon a little after 1pm.  I will put the entire update at the bottom of the messages on the original post about the accident, but here is a little bit of good news:

It seems like every time she wakes up, we see more of the old Haley. I told you that on Sunday, Haley began forming simple words. Well, by 1:00am Monday, when she woke up from her sleep, she began talking in sentences. The words weren't sharp, but there was a full vocabulary. The speech therapist visited. She hadn't seen Haley since Friday afternoon. Haley wasn't talking or eating. Monday, the speech therapist was speechless.

Haley will be going to Parkview for her in-patient rehab on Thursday morning. It will take us some time to sort through visitation for Haley's rehab stay. Thank you SO much for your patience with regard to this. We are so blessed to have all of you. However, we will need some time to get familiar with her schedule, therapist recommendations, Haley's needs, etc.  Please call the hospital or us before you plan a visit.  We've been told that planned visitation will work best for Haley's continued progress. I know this is what we all want.

Really, really remarkable.  More comments and Haley updates from the Chaneys are available at the links mentioned up top, but continued prayer (and the occasional joyful praise) certainly remain on the menu.

A Rare Political Moment

There was a democrat debate on MSNBC last night between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.  The first question was about NAFTA and how Ohio hates it but Texas loves it, so who is right?  Right off the bat, Senator Clinton complained to the moderators because she was asked the first question. 

"Can I just point out that for the last several debates, I always get the first question, all the time, and I don't mind, I'll field them..."

 

she said, or something like that, and then went on a mini-rant about some Saturday Night Live skit I haven't seen.  The gist being that she felt, I guess, that her answering first was letting Senator Obama off the hook.  Either giving him more time to think, or else copy her answer with his own spin.  I don't even remember what she said about NAFTA, other than blaming President Bush for breaking it and pandering to the locals about fixing it.

I don't much like to hear complaints from candidates.  If Senator Clinton had said,

"I got the first question last time, let's let Senator Obama go first this time."

 

that would have been fine, even interesting... but to say, "I always get the first question," and then just complain about it and not do anything about it but snark at the other candidate asking if "he might want a pillow" and make the moderators look bad...

Who wants four years of that?

Television without Pity

Do you want to read rather funny, rather harsh reviews of the shows you watch on TV?  Television without Pity. 

Caution, you may encounter foul language.

400 New Jobs in Indy

AAR Corporation will be hiring up to 400 workers at the Indianapolis International Airport.  AAR does airplane maintenance, so they would hire mechanics, inspectors, sheet metal workers, etc.

Sectional Thought

Peru 63, Bellmont 45
Wayne 52, Maconaquah 45

Now Wayne plays Peru in the first game on Friday, followed by Norwell vs. Elmhurst.

Random thoughts on the Peru-Bellmont sectional game

I don't like the way the IHSAA does its sectional brackets. In a 6-team sectional, why should the two teams that get a bye play each other? Not only do Norwell and Elmhurst, two of the weaker teams in the sectional, have to win one less game, they also get an easier game to start with.

I agree... but it gives Norwell a shot.

IU holds off OSU

IU 72, Ohio State 69. Once again, IU's excellent free-throw shooting made the difference down the line.

Team Hoyt

Sevens member Sherri Kumfer passed along this web site about the very inspirational "Team Hoyt." Having just watched a very nice performance of "He Ain't Heavy, He's my brother," I thought I'd pass it along. It's really an amazing story.

Turkey Point Reactors go dark

Apparently, the Turkey Point nuclear power plant does not use its own power to run the plant, reports are that the loss of external power to the plant caused Turkey Point to go down, which added to the cascading loss of power in Florida.  They may not regain power until well into the night.

These large outages are difficult to diagnose, it's not always easy to know which outage caused the next.  The Disney Web Cam is still online, but the Cocoa Beach Cam is off.  Old Walt knew his stuff... they are pretty self-sufficient there.

Global temps drop precipitously

This article is not from the Onion, either, it's from DailyTech.  There's a reason why I have that link to "Climate Debate Daily" on the right.  The Al Gore, Global Warming bandwagon is hitting some major, snow-covered roadblocks.

All four major global temperature tracking outlets (Hadley, NASA's GISS, UAH, RSS) have released updated data. All show that over the past year, global temperatures have dropped precipitously.

Meteorologist Anthony Watts compiled the results of all the sources. The total amount of cooling ranges from 0.65C up to 0.75C -- a value large enough to erase nearly all the global warming recorded over the past 100 years. All in one year time. For all sources, it's the single fastest temperature change every recorded, either up or down.

Snow cover in America is greater than at any time since 1966... sound like Global warming?

Florida Power

Expert says Florida could export solar power.  Well, if they're not going to use it, why not export it.

Florida is experiencing widespread power outages across the state, officials said Tuesday. As many as 4 million customers were without power across the state, according to CNN.

Residents began experiencing the outages across South Florida in the early afternoon, shortly after 1 p.m., according to the Florida Power & Light Company.

Officials were working to gather the list of affected cities and neighborhoods.

 The blackouts reportedly started happening after thunderstorms raced through the state.

Captured!

Police Apprehend Josh Ridings in Owensboro, KY hiding in an abandoned home.

Sewer Worker Rising

Ridings still at large

Police are investigating the errors that allowed Josh Ridings, accused of sexual assault in three states, to escape from an Indiana prison yesterday.  West Virginia wants Ridings in their prisons once he is found -- and who can blame them.

Sexual Predators escape from Jail (has a picture)

Air-Power

Under $20K, 8 gallon tank, 1000 miles per fill-up, 96mph.  Nice.

Morning Snow

Maybe 5" -- more on the way.

Haley Chaney Update 2-25-08

Haley Chaney's CarePage at Lutheran was updated today at around midnight. I will put the entire contents of the update in the comments section at the bottom of the original post about the accident, but here is just a little bit:

God continues to answer prayer. Haley passed the Swallow Study this morning and is now able to drink thickened liquids and pureed foods. We were supposed to ease her into it, but how do you tell someone who hasn’t eaten in two weeks that they have to stop? She held it down but ended up with a stomachache.

Haley also began forming words and sentences today. She also wrote out her name and could read various things written to her. She cried many times as well. We had a hard time understanding what she was trying to say to us. That was frustrating for all of us. We did hear her loud and clear, though, that she wanted to go home. She displayed for the first time emotion, frustration, and despair. Pray that God gives her victory over those feelings and that she would find the strength to keep pushing toward the goal.

Prayers for Haley and her family. Strength.

Midnight Snow

Our purses were full,

coins fell in a ceaseless stream --
ringing through the day;
then snowfall of an evening . . .
suddenly paupers, we sit,
grieving in the silent night.

Click for larger versions.

Food Subsidies

This is an interesting graphic. I don't know enough about why the subsidies for veggies and fruits are so small... perhaps those who farm vegitables and fruits are better off not relying on the government for protections... or perhaps the meat and dairy farmers are facing unfair competition from overseas. Anyway, the Feds once again don't appear to be forward looking enough to put our money toward developing the diet they recommend.

Not that I would eat what Congress told me to eat anyway...

Photo Finish!

Purdue falls in Rankings

The new AP Top 25 rankings are out

Indiana is #12 (up 3 after the win against Purdue)
Butler is #14 (down 6 after the loss to Drake)
Purdue is #16 (down 2 after the loss to IU)
Notre Dame is #17 (up 4 after beating Pitt and Syracuse)

Wisconsin is #10 (up 1 after beating OSU)
Michigan State remains #19.

Sad news of drownings

3 boys die in 2 separate river drownings.  Ages 4, 6 and 9. 

Best Places to work in Indiana

They are listed alphabetically at the bottom of this page.  Based on the analysis of the Best Places to work in Indiana web site.

Prisoners Escape

A man in prison for kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl in Ohio has escaped from a Boonville, IN jail. Boonville's Warrick County Jail is little South and West of Indy. He is 28-year-old Joshua Ridings.

A small picture on the bottom right of this page.

Update: Still looking for him.

Update: His now 13-year-old victim and her family have gone into hiding.

Plane lands on I-70 near Greenfield

Pretty cool... just like the movies.  Greenfield is just East of Indy. 

As he descended to the interstate, the pilot gave drivers below a sight not many will soon forget.

"I stayed slightly ahead of the cars a little bit, just to give the driver an idea I was about to touch down," Suleman said. "The guy in front of me, he kept looking at me, the moment he saw me touch down, he went and took off."

And after he got the plane fixed, police stopped traffic and he took off from the Interstate as well.

Almco got its Press Crown

I mentioned here the other day that I-69 Northbound would be blocked with a large load Sunday morning that was headed from Indy to Bluffton.  The trip was completed in only 8.5 hours. The load was a 378,000 pound press crown for the Almco in Bluffton.  Completely assembled, the entire press weighs in at nearly a million and a half pounds... 700 tons.  Nice.

Haley Chaney Update 2-24-08

Haley Chaney's CarePage at Lutheran was updated today at around 2pm. I will put the entire contents of the update in the comments section at the bottom of the original post about the accident, but here is just a little Sunday Good News from the middle of the night:

She took very small, shakey steps toward the bathroom. I was supporting her with one arm wrapped around her waist. Her eyes were wide open and head up straight. One of the nurses walked in when we were half way there. Her mouth DROPPED! She couldn’t say anything for a while…she just put her things down and stared. The nurse never really did say much until Haley settled back down in the bed after USING the bathroom. When she was hooking Haley back up, the nurse said, “I have a church that I go to. I believe in God and all that. And, I know only He could do what I just saw.” Yay God!

Excellent.

Big 10 Three Way

The top of the Big 10 is all tied up in knots.

Ohio State and Wisconsin are tied at the half in their game today... Wisconsin is ranked 11 nationally and is one of those teams tied for the Big 10 lead. Personally, I think Wisconsin is distracted by Ohio State's odd, gray tops and mid-calf pants.

Wisconsin by 5... but Ohio State looked good (or Wisconsin bad, it's hard to say).

Bluffton Stays Clean

The Bluffton Tigers completed their perfect regular season with an exciting two point win over Southwood. Bluffton, 21-0, heads into the post season to face Adams Central (0-19) on Tuesday.

Trailing 40-37 with 27.2 seconds to go, Bluffton sophomore Cody Cochran launched a long three-pointer that split the net to give the Tigers a breather with 20.4 remaining.

After Southwood senior Aaron Shaw missed the front end of a one-plus-one free-throw opportunity, Bluffton junior forward Brock Woodward pulled down his ninth rebound with about 13 seconds to go and started a Tiger race down the floor.

Tiger junior Jared Johnson took a pass from Woodward and put up an unbelievable shot with 4.6 seconds left that gave Bluffton a thrilling 42-40 edge.

Southwood quickly called a timeout with 4.2 seconds. On the Knights’ inbounds play, Shaw dribbled over the midcourt stripe and called timeout with 1.6 seconds to go.

On the ensuing inbounds play, Shaw flared up a short three with Bluffton’s Matt Campbell in front of him and the final buzzer sounded.

Was this closer than the Leo Game, where a scoring error kept the Tigers clean? Hard to say... but as Mr. Dormire used to tell the tennis team, "The better you are, the luckier you get."

Southern Wells 43, Canterbury 60

Southern Wells falls. Canterbury moves on to face University (a Carmel high school).

Fort Wayne South Side lost big to South Bend Washington, as well

Ralph's In

Ralph Nader's running for Prez again... who will it hurt more, Fred or Ethel?  Errr, McCain or Hillary... or Obama.

Memory Breakthrough?

Could a brain-pacemaker help people recover old memories?

Haley Chaney Update 2-23-2008

Haley Chaney's Care Page was updated Saturday afternoon. I'll add the entire update to the comment section at the bottom of the original post about the accident, but here is a little bit of encouraging news:

When the neurosurgeon came into Haley’s room yesterday, Haley was sitting in a chair (supported) and looking around. She very slowly crossed her legs and turned her head and looked at him. Haley responded to some commands. As the doctor was leaving, he encouraged her to keep working hard and said, “She’s doing very well. Much better than I anticipated at this point.” That was a pretty large statement.

The encouraging signs yesterday: she hugged Angie and I with one arm, cracked a little smile for her friends, slowly puckered her lips and kissed Angie, smelled some flowers, twice as many “thumbs ups”, slight nodding of “yes” and “no”, sat on the side of the bed with less help, stood with less support, and sat in a chair (with some restraint) for a couple hours. She also cracked all her knuckles on the right hand. She’s getting stronger and more determined. We asked, “Haley, do you want to get back in the bed?” No response. “Haley, do want to keep going?” Her thumb popped up.

We want to keep encouraging all of you as you have all of us, but please know that Haley has a long way to go. Please keep praying for God’s miracles.

I don't want to distract anyone from the focus of their prayers, but please do remember the Krinn, the Burke, Shutt and Brinneman families in your prayers, as well.

New IU Coach?

Tony Bennett mum on Indiana rumors

That would be so cool... I saw Tony Bennett once, in an airport. His flight was delayed and he pulled a putting carpet, putter and golf ball out of his bag and was practicing his game in the airport lobby.

Bobby Knight himself could have benefited from patience like that.

IU: Starters will Play

It sounds like the IU big guns have cooled down, or else realized the emptiness of their boycott. They're on the bus to Northwestern.

Jarrod Parker Update

An update on how Norwell's Jarrod Parker is doing with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Jarrod Parker's stay in big league camp was brief, but the impression that he made will last for a while.

The D-backs sent their No. 1 pick from last year's First-Year Player Draft to Minor League camp Friday morning, a move designed to let him get more work on fundamentals before he starts his first professional season...

He will likely start out with Class A South Bend and throw somewhere in the neighborhood of 115-125 innings.

"For a kid right out of high school he wasn't overmatched by anything here," D-backs manager Bob Melvin said. "I told him that he should take a lot of confidence out of this experience."

Blinking Illusion

In the picture above, the center dots are changing in unison, not alternately. If you click on add/remove surrounds, you'll see.

B2 Down

A B2 Stealth Bomber crashed shortly after takeoff in Guam. The pilots safety ejected... it's the first B2 Bomber to ever crash... they cost approximately $1.2 billion to build.

Funny Videos

I know not everyone shares a common sense of humor... but just in case you share mine, you might check out these PhotoShop training videos. I always get a kick out of the author who talks you through how to fix a picture with PhotoShop... he's very dry, just leaving a failed relationship, and doesn't always have a very positive outlook.

I-69

A little tip off by the Journal-Gazette -- some large equipment is moving from Indy to Bluffton on Sunday, it will effectively block Northbound traffic.

A Little Southern Class

Raiders one win away from first state appearance

While the state tournament has been in progress, Lewellen and her teammates have had to deal with the tragic events that hit two families at Norwell High School.

Norwell junior Kane Krinn was accidentally shot and killed, while junior Haley Chaney was critically injured in a car accident.

Seeing how quickly misfortune strikes, they have reached out to the Krinn and Chaney families.

"We wanted to support them and let them know that we're there for both of their families. We're so thankful that God has given the Chaney family the miracle that they have. We just hope that Haley keeps improving.''

Northern Wells and Southern Wells don't usually give each other much thought, running in different circles as they do, but that thought is all class and much appreciated, I'm sure.

Haley Chaney's Care Page  --  Related comments are at the bottom of this post.

Lopez has twins

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are the proud parents of twins; a boy and a girl.

I'm thinking their names will be 'Julius Caesar' and 'Cleopatra'... what do you think?

Incredibly Cool

Thanks to Sevens member Amy Kreigh for sending this video along...

IU Players threaten to quit

Report: Indiana players threaten to quit team

A meeting between Indiana University athletic director Rick Greenspan and the Hoosiers basketball team Thursday night turned rancorous when players threatened to quit if Kelvin Sampson is removed, CBSSports.com reports.

Two sources told the website that Greenspan met with players to prepare them for today's official announcement that Sampson would either be suspended or terminated. Before Greenspan was finished speaking, a player stood up and said, "if Sampson ain't coaching, we ain't playing."

The sources' account says Greenspan then rhetorically asked if he should just cancel the whole season. The player responded, "We don't care what you do. But if Sampson ain't coaching, we ain't playing. Then the players walked out.

There are 30+ thousand people on Campus... I'm sure replacements can be found  who don't want to cheat.

Fire rescue

Ebay... they always outbid you at the last second. :)

Tiger Woods 3 Down, 5 to Play

Woods pulls off miracle, beats Hughes

The end result

Anybody who's interested in IU Coach Sampson being fired already knows about it, right? So why not look at a slideshow of what happens when you spray water on buildings in the winter.

The Avilla Incident

If you've followed the story of the Avilla man, Duane Squire, who drove off county road 48 up in Dekalb, you know how sad it is. Squire was driving with his autistic grandson and they went off the road into a field. There were witnesses, the witnesses called it in, the police came but were unable to find the car. They stopped looking when a dispatcher waved them off. The 66 year old man lived through the crash, but passed away later. His autistic grandson spent 22 hours in the frigid car and survived.

A sheriff’s deputy arrived on the scene at 2:57 p.m. and began asking a dispatcher for help in finding the crash and a description of the car.

The dispatcher called Monroe back for more information at 3:03 p.m., just as she and her husband were passing the crash scene again on their way back to Auburn.

“We see the car just off the corner of the woods back there,” Monroe said during her second conversation with the dispatcher. Watching from C.R. 48, Monroe said she also could see a sheriff deputy’s car to the south on C.R. 19. She and her husband tried to guide the search, telling the dispatcher that the wrecked car was directly west of the deputy’s car.

Monroe and her husband accurately described the car as a dark blue, older model, four-door Oldsmobile or Pontiac.

As Monroe continued trying to help officers spot the wrecked car, one of the sheriff’s deputies broke in on his radio.

“I spoke to a Garrett (police) unit,” the deputy said. “The people that are back there have permission to be back there.

“No 10-50,” the deputy said, using the police radio code for a traffic accident. “They went back there on purpose.”

The dispatcher relayed the deputy’s message to Monroe.

“They didn’t wreck. They had permission to go out there. They’ve driven off the road on purpose,” the dispatcher told her.

Monroe did not accept the explanation.

“Several of us pulled off the road because we thought it was an accident,” she told the dispatcher. “He flew off the road at a high rate of speed ... no brakes applied or anything.”

Just one further note from the article:

Two deputies who abandoned the search for Squire’s crash are “devastated by it, because they’re very dedicated officers who work very hard,” said DeKalb County Chief Deputy Sheriff Jay Oberholtzer.

People can't be human and not make mistakes... for all the Police, Fire, and Emergency Workers -- you all don't get enough praise and I hope your personal lives are filled with family and church enough to help you cope with the images you see and when things go wrong.

Steak 'n Shake

Indiana's own Steak 'n Shake restaurant chain is in financial trouble. I think we can all help them out by having one of these chocolate milk shakes over the weekend.

As if we need a reason.

Haley Chaney Update 2-20-08

There was an update to Haley Chaney's Care Page at Lutheran late last night. I will put the entire content in the messages at the bottom of the original post about the accident, but here is some good news:

Haley was very active Tuesday night. It was her first night off of the sedatives. Her brain was still waking up and she was also experiencing some withdraw from all the sedatives. She calmed down early in the morning and rested….for a little while. Then the rehab started. When it was done, she looked and felt as though she ran a marathon. By the end of the day, she had waved bye to her grandpa. We asked if she wanted a visitor and she gave a “thumbs up.” She held up the correct number of fingers when asked. She even held her phone, turned it around to face her then slid the lid up ready to text. Wow! God is amazing. We are awaiting the MRI results from today to see if Haley has extensive ligament damage in her right knee or if there is just major bruising/swelling that will take care of itself in time.

We are continually reminded that Haley’s days will be filled with baby steps. Instead of looking into the future to see what all she has to relearn, we will look at yesterday and marvel at how far she’s come.

This is, indeed, good news.

The Wounded Angel

Eclipse

Regret

It almost seems I knew it all along.
As if some shadows traveled back in time
with hidden omens of the thing to come,
rising just before, somehow just beyond
my senses' best abilities to know
and turn perception into deed.

But now it hardly matters any more,
if future hints have ever reached my eyes,
because I have convinced myself they did
and that I failed to heed their telltale signs...
And so, regret takes residence within
where only sorrow's work belongs.

Luers Show Choir Invitational March 8

The Bishop Luers 34th annual Show Choir Invitational will be on March 8 this year. Did you know that the online encyclopedia (Wikipedia) mentions this annual Luers event? What does Wikipedia have to say about Show Choirs?

Participants typically wear stage makeup and shoes conducive to dancing. Most costuming is brightly colored, often with sequins. Many show choir directors encourage the use of expressive movements of the face that assist in conveying the message of the song being performed.

I guess that about sums it up.

I got your converter right here

In about one year, in mid-February 2009, the Federal Government has mandated that analog TV signals must be turned off and go digital. Evidently, Americans aren't distracted enough by analog signals and Congress is afraid we may lift up our heads and look their way if we don't go digital.

If you have an old TV that uses an antenna, you won't be able to watch off-the-air programming any more unless you have a converter box.  Always thinking ahead, the Federal government is willing to give you a $40 coupon toward the purchase of a converter box.  Hey, $40 cash doesn't buy many votes, but keeping 'American Idol' online...  They do care.

Click here to order up to two coupons

Cocoa Beach Ron Jon Surf Cam

Because it's only one month until Spring Break

Bluffton: 20-0

Bluffton beat New Haven last night to move to 20-0 on the season with only 2A Southwood (12-7) left on their schedule.

Adams Central -- poor, poor Adams Central, sitting at 0-18 on the season, get's stuck playing Bluffton on February 26th in the opener of the Woodlan sectional. South Adams gets a bye, forcing Bluffton to play three games to win the 5 team sectional, while Luers would only have to play 2.

Norwell ends season 8-12

Norwell 50, Jay County 54. Norwell (8-12) moves to the 3A post season to face Elmhurst (5-14). The Peru Sectional consists of Peru (9-10), Bellmont (8-11), Wayne (10-9), Maconaquah (8-11), Norwell (8-12), and Elmhurst (5-14). With records like those, anything can happen.

Remarkable Carly

Carly Fleishman Describes Autism From the Inside. After years of therapy, the thirteen-year-old autistic girl made a breakthrough and is now able to communicate her thoughts and feelings via computer keyboarding.

Purdue falls short

Purdue had a very bad shooting night. They made a game of it, starting out strong and coming back to within two points with about six minutes or so to go... but they just couldn't put the ball in the hoop... and give Indiana their due, they made 30 free throws on the night to offset their many turnovers.

Haley Chaney Update 2-19-08

Haley Chaney's Care Page at Lutheran was updated this afternoon at 3:51pm. I will put the entire update at the bottom of the messages on the original post about the accident, but here is a little bit of good news:

February 19, 2008 at 03:51 PM EST
Family and Friends, praise God for hearing the prayers of his people. We have won another great victory today in the powerful name of Jesus. Today was a great day! Angie and I never thought we would be so happy just to see Haley yaaaaawwn…blink…glance around the room…then look at us with those big blue eyes.

The last time Haley was in ICU was when she was born. She was premature and only weighed around 5 pounds. They had to hook her up to some tubes then too, because she had trouble breathing. The emotion surprised us. Angie and I went back in time. It seemed strange to be celebrating the same simple pleasures 17 years later. We welcomed Haley into the world…again.

WE LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Tony & Angie C.

This is welcome, good news we can all only pray continues in the same vein in the days to come. :)

Haley Chaney Fund Established

The Bluffton New-Banner has an article this afternoon on a fund established to help the Chaney family deal with the expenses of Haley's hospitalization.

Gene Donaghy, who is establishing the accounts along with Dick Reinhard, reported this morning that the doctors have removed the tubes and that "it's like she is awakening from a deep sleep," he said. Breathing tubes have been removed and she is breathing and swallowing on her own, according to latest reports.

Donations to the fund may be dropped of at any Markle Bank or Ossian State Bank office, or mailed to the Life Community Church, 428 S. Oak St., Bluffton. Checks should be made out to "The Life Church for Haley Chaney" and are tax deductible, Donaghy said.

The is a good time to thank the Bluffton News-Banner for all the wonderful, detailed articles they write for the community as a whole. Articles like this one are a credit to journalism as it should be.

Haley Chaney's Care Page at Lutheran.

Lunar Eclipse Wednesday

Are you ready for tomorrow night's total lunar eclipse? If not, you'll have to wait until 2010 to see another episode. As you can see in NASA's picture above, the eclipse will begin around 8:45pm Wednesday evening and be total for nearly an hour beginning around 10pm. Often, depending on the conditions, the moon will turn reddish during the eclipse. See the chart below for future eclipses of the moon (click on it to make it bigger). Click on the chart above to go to the NASA eclipse page.

A Very Silent Night

A recording of 'Silent Night' at a frequency so high only dogs can hear it, has topped New Zealand record charts.

This is what music has come to.  Silence is at the top of the charts.

Hoosier 2008 Fishing Calendar

Look no further than these 36 prime places to fish

Big Ten Game of the year

Indiana-Purdue Big Ten game of the year 7pm on ESPN

Senseless

Vandals attack Hobart High School with stolen cars

Crack Down on I-69

State Police Cracking Down on I-69

The Indiana State Police caught nearly 9,000 speeders, performed nearly 3,000 truck inspections and made more than 1,000 driver arrests along Interstate 69 between Indianapolis and the Michigan state line during the past 10 months.

Since I travel I-69 daily, I have certainly seen a lot of stopped trucks and motorists.

Meat Recall

Meat recall hits area schools

At least 13 northeast Indiana schools and school districts have been affected by the recall of meat from a California slaughterhouse undergoing an animal abuse investigation.

• Adams Central Community Schools
• Bishop Luers High School
• East Allen County Schools
• Fort Wayne Community Schools
• Lakeland School Corp.
• Metropolitan School District of Wabash County
• Northern Wells Community Schools
• Northwest Allen Schools
• Tippecanoe Valley School Corp.
• Warsaw Community Schools
• Whitko Community School
• Whitley County Schools
• Wyneken Memorial Lutheran School

The recall was caused by a meat market which failed to follow new rules regarding the slaughter of cows that cannot walk.

Haley Chaney Update 2-18-08 Evening

Haley Chaney's CarePage at Lutheran Hospital was updated this evening at 11:21 pm. I will copy the text and post it with the comments at the bottom of the original posting about the accident. Here is a little bit:

To our family and friends…all of you who have held Haley before the Lord. We love and appreciate you so much!

We finished day 6. As of 6pm tonight, Haley is breathing without the help of a respirator. All the tubes still remain. She is doing great! Praise God for getting us this far! All of her vitals remained excellent today. They will see how she does tonight.

Tomorrow is a big day. Sometime in the morning they will take her off of the sedatives.

Please keep Haley Chaney and her family in your prayers, as well as all of the students and families in and around Norwell who have been affected by the recent tragedies. Prayer is gift best given and well received.

A Measure of Grace

I come to you the moment I return.
I've been away again -- away too long --
and half-spent tithes are all I have, or worse.

You see me on my knees, a clinging man,
embracing pasts I thought I'd left behind,
seeking solace in the arms from which I ran.

Once more, you take my sacrifice as whole --
as if you add a measure of your grace
to those whose need is greater than their soul.

In the quiet of the night, you touch my face
and every broken thing is put to right
beneath the feathers of your hands.

AP College Rankings

The new AP ranking poll is out

Butler #8
Purdue #14
Indiana #15
Notre Dame #21

Whose the underdog now? USA Today and ESPN have IU and Purdue reversed, IU 14, Purdue 15.

Big 10 Boiling Over

Big 10: Conference Title Race 'Boiling Over'

Purdue is the antithesis to everything glorified by ESPN's Ultimate Highlight or And 1 Tour—today's warped versions of Basketball for Dummies.

A look at Purdue's overall statistics showcases exactly how unusual this team is.

The leading scorer on the team, freshman guard E'Twaun Moore, posts a rather pedestrian 11.9 ppg. The second leading scorer, another freshman, Robbie Hummel—who is Brian Cardinal reincarnate (minus the male pattern balding syndrome), nets a second-best 11.3 ppg.

The team's leading rebounder, Hummel, gets only 5.9 rebounds per game. But the Boilers have eight players averaging at least three rebounds a game, an unheard of statistic that has been a key to their success. Despite the lack of a dominant inside presence, the Boilers' defense is what other Big Ten coaches are talking about.

But perhaps the most unbelievable stat for the Baby Boilers is this: No one on this team plays more than 30 minutes per game. And the team goes nine players deep every game.

No me-first superstar. Just a team willing to do all the right things.

The tradition is back for Purdue basketball.

Also back is the crowd support. Dubbed the "Mackey Magic," Purdue's Mackey Arena is rocking again—standing room only, face paint, crazed students, the whole nine [yards].

Dara Torres

In the article "A quest to prove she's clean," Dara Torres talks about the impossible situation in which she finds herself. At 40 years old, after having a baby, after being in the Olympics four times (and sitting out one), she remains one of the best swimmers in the world.

Then came last summer's breakthrough meet in Monte Carlo, then the USA Swimming National Championships in Indiana, where she broke the U.S. mark in the 50 free, blazing the pool in 24.53 seconds, nearly a second-and-a-half faster than the first time she set the U.S. record back in 1983.

After the broken record, Torres and Lohberg agreed to meet head-on the inevitable steroid questions that would follow. She met with Travis Tygart, the CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

"I don't know what programs you have or what you do, but I want to be an open book," Torres recalled telling him. "You can DNA-test me, blood-test me, urine-test me, whatever you want to do. I'm here, you can do it."

She reminds me a bit of Lance Armstrong -- a truly extraordinary athlete hiding in plain sight among the dopers.

Korrey Short wins Sectional Diving Championship

Congratulations to Norwell's Korrey Short for winning the State one-meter springboard diving championship. He'll move on to the Regionals tomorrow night and, hopefully, the State finals on Saturday.

Bluffton moves to 19-0

Bluffton 70, Mississinewa 41 and I didn't even realize they had a game on Saturday night.

The Bluffton Tigers set themselves out from other Bluffton teams by becoming the first to win 19 games without a loss in a season.

The Tigers did that with a 70-41 romp over the Mississinewa Indians (8-11) Saturday night at the Tiger Den, led by [Norwell's] junior forward Brock Woodward's season-high, 34-point effort.

Next up, New Haven away, tomorrow night.

Let the mind games begin

Indiana's D.J. White has a sprained knee and may not play against Purdue

Since White is one of the best players in the Big 10, if you believe his knee-ouchie will keep him out of Tuesday game, I have a bridge to sell you.

North America Goes Dark

Rotation of the Earth Plunges Entire North American Continent Into Darkness

NEW YORK—Millions of eyewitnesses watched in stunned horror Tuesday as light emptied from the sky, plunging the U.S. and neighboring countries into darkness. As the hours progressed, conditions only worsened.

At approximately 4:20 p.m. EST, the sun began to lower from its position in the sky in a westward trajectory, eventually disappearing below the horizon.

One reason you have to love "The Onion" is because it does such a great job of mimicking the real press. Here are some real headlines:

50/50 chance Colorado dams will go dry within 13 years

2007 was the warmest year on record for land masses

Melting Ice Sheets will increase Volcanic activity


Since 1992 the TOPEX satellite program has provided measurements of sea level change. Notice above the green is the sea level falling, the red is the sea level rising. Who can describe for me how quickly global warming is swamping us. TOPEX averages the changes over three year periods.

Cornoil on the Cob

Perhaps the development of corn is the greatest feat ever performed by Man. It is only recently that scientists were able to use DNA to figure out where corn came from (a certain type of grass)... it must have taken the Indians hundreds of generations to slowly turn grass into corn by picking and choosing the best crops to plant next to each other. Corn revolutionized how the world lived. Now, scientists are tweaking corn once again -- this time to make it yield more oil when it's turned into fuel.

Agricultural scientists in the United States have identified a key gene that determines oil yield in a corn, a finding that could have repercussions for the fast-expanding biofuels industry. The gene lies on Chromosome 6 of the maize genome, according to a paper published on Sunday by Nature Genetics. It encodes a catalysing enzyme called DGAT1-2, which carries out the final step in the plant's oil-making process. In addition, a tiny amino acid variant within this gene can boost the yield of oil and oleic acid -- the sought-after edible fat in corn -- by up to 41 percent and 107 percent respectively.

But how will it taste, and what it would do to my cholesterol level? And if cattle get lose in a corn-oil field, will burgers be even more greasy?

Bluffton vs. Luers Again

It was the Bishop Luers girls who knocked the Bluffton girls out of the Sectional... it appears the Bluffton boys will have to get by Bishop Luers (and DeShaun Thomas), as well. Bluffton though, is trying not to look ahead

In Class 2A, the area has three of the top four teams in the rankings with Bluffton at No. 1, Westview at No. 2 and Bishop Luers at No. 4.

While Bluffton is preparing for the playoffs, it also has the task of keeping its undefeated record alive (19-0).

The Tigers do it against five 3A teams in the month of February and knowing a matchup against 2A No. 4 Bishop Luers could be coming in the sectional finals.

"We are preparing to play over these (last) four games really against Luers because we know they have the most talent in the sectional," Bluffton coach Wayne Barker said. "That is going to take a huge task for us."

Haley Chaney Update 2-18-08

There is an update to Haley Chaney's CarePage, which I will enter in full in the messages below the original post about the accident, here is a little bit:

The update came a little late tonight. About 260 people came up to the hospital tonight for a time of praise, worship and prayer. We used the Kachmanm Auditorium on the lower level and packed it out. There were also a few other churches meeting at the same time to specifically lift up Haley before the Father. A time of fasting and prayer began at 6PM Sunday night and will end at 6PM Monday night. We cannot thank you all enough for your continued prayer and support!

Haley had another CT scan this morning. It showed continued improvement as it related to blood in the brain. Bleeding has stopped and is being (slowly) removed from the brain tissue. Praise God! They are watching for swelling but definitely are not as concerned about that at this point. They have turned their attention to getting her free of all the life support and sedation.

We have entered a new phase of the healing process. The fact that the bleeding in the brain has stopped does not have anything to do with the damage done by the initial impact and hemorrhaging of neural pathways. They really cannot assess any of that until Haley "wakes up." She is now taking as many breaths on her own as what the respirator is doing for her.

Please keep Haley Chaney and her family, as well as Alyssa Shutt (who was also injured in the accident) and all of the Northern Wells school area in your prayers.

Daytona 2008

Well, I thought the Hoosier in the winning circle would be Tony Stewart, but I guess as long as Ryan Newman's a native hoosier (born in 1977, no less) -- and since he's a graduate of Purdue (structural engineering)... I'll take it.

But what was the deal with him smokin' him tires until there was a white-out in his cockpit? I thought they were gonna have to drag him out and give him oxygen. :)

Purdue vs. IU through the years

Tales from the storm

1981: When [Purdue coach] Keady walked into the visitor's locker room at IU for the first time there was message waiting for him: "Keady, we're going to kick your a--," read the message written on the chalkboard.

"That kind of got everybody fired up," Keady said. Not that any extraordinary incentive was needed.

Three technical fouls were assessed in the first two minutes. By the time it was over, there had been 53 fouls called, 62 free throws, four players disqualified and IU had a 69-61 victory. Indiana coach Bob Knight drew the first technical for protesting a call. Keady got the second and third (two technicals did not bring an automatic ejection in those days) after watching Knight grab a referee with impunity and move him out of his line of sight.

Purdue travels to IU once again on Tuesday, the 19th.

Kane and Haley

The Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette has an article this morning: Tragedy Strikes Norwell Athletes. It is written by Eric Morgan, Norwell's Athletic Director.

The article has all the facts but, perhaps, misses -- or only hints at -- the bigger story we all see being written in text messaging, CarePage messages and an ever-expanding prayer chain that's throwing a blanket over not just the Chaney and Krinn families, and those families directly involved, but all of Wells County. Mr. Morgan is right when he says every other care, all the world of concerns from your day-to-day life, blow away "like smoke in a hurricane." Perhaps I see it wrongly myself, but there is an eye of calm to the hurricane and more and more people are stepping into that eye, turning to God, and perhaps that calmness in the center of tragedy -- that can only be found with prayer -- is the closest thing to a reason one can ever give to someone who asks, "Why?"

Whose still in

Which area schools are still in the Girls State Championship race?

Fort Wayne South Side is still in the 4A chase. They will face South Bend Washington next.

Fort Wayne Canterbury (with a scary moment) and Southern Wells are still in the 1A chase. They will face each other next.

Haley Chaney Update 2-16-08

It's not the wick that burns. The heat from the flame melts the wax, which is then absorbed into the wick. The melted, liquid wax flows through the wick, surrounding it, preventing oxygen from reaching it, protecting it from the flame -- it is the wax which burns, vaporizing into flame all around the wick.

Haley Chaney's CarePage was updated at 9:17 pm this evening... I have copied it and posted it as a comment on the original entry about the accident. Here is a small portion:

Praise God! For the most part, Haley had another calm day again. They will begin to wean her off various systems that support her life on Monday if she continues through the weekend doing well. A breathing machine has been breathing for Haley at 16 breaths per minute. They have removed the oxygen mix…meaning she is now just breathing room air. Doctors/Nurses will lower the breaths-per-minute by 2 every 6 hours. The purpose for this is to force her to begin taking her own breaths and slowly prepare her to do it all on her own.

Haley’s fever seems to have stabilized. She is still running about a 100.6 temperature. This is not a great concern to the medical staff.

Like wax protecting a wick and fueling a fire, may all our prayers and the Holy Spirit surround and protect Haley and her family and provide them energy and faith in excess of their needs.