Bill Benner

Even with some disappointments sprinkled in (Ron Artest, Purdue football and no state teams in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament), 2005 was an outstanding year for sports in Indiana. But 2006 will be even better. In that vein, we look back, and we look ahead: Best local sports stories of 2005 1) The passing of the funding mechanisms at the state and local levels that led to the Sept. 20 groundbreaking for Indiana Stadium. While Reggie Miller’s retirement from the…

Reaction to the news that a soon-to-be-former Indiana Pacers forward wants to relocate his talents elsewhere reminds me of a scene from the classic cinematic comedy “Animal House.” One of the most noticeable results of a fraternity night out that had gone hopelessly awry was the destruction of a car that character Kent “Flounder” Dorfman had “borrowed” from his brother. As the Deltas surveyed the damage, Eric “Otter” Stratton looked at his distraught fraternity brother and said, “Face it Flounder;…

For six years, he was a part-time resident of our city. Believe me when I say Indianapolis was full-time better for it. Not many folks here know this fellow named Bill Hancock, or the integral behindthe-scenes role he has played in the NCAA’s staging of its showcase event, the men’s basketball tournament and the Final Four. I’ll sum it up this way: The NCAA’s tournament manual is about 4 inches thick. Hancock, who served as the tournament director, could quote…

One year ago, I used this column to be critical of my alma mater, Indiana University, while lauding upstate rival Purdue. In the nearly five years I’ve been writing for Indianapolis Business Journal, no column of mine has received as much reaction as that one. And while 90 percent of that piece was devoted to the athletics programs-football, in particular-the 10 percent in which I referred to the respective images and leaderships of Indiana and Purdue received the most attention….

The Indianapolis Colts’ bye week has arrived, which means it’s time for a casual conversation-no X’s and O’s or New England Patriots talk allowed-with quarterback Peyton Manning. Not long ago, I sat down with No. 18 to talk about his place in the community, rather than his place behind center. Here is the first of a two-part interview. Benner: Your community service work through the PeyBack Foundation is wellknown. It’s now given more than $1 million to youth programs here,…

In that span, I viewed Indiana-Iowa, Purdue-Northwestern, Ohio State-Michigan State, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Notre Dame-USC, Michigan-Penn State and UCLAWashington State. Sometimes simultaneously. That’s because I also have picture-in-picture, which I also believe to be one of the great inventions of all time. Anyway, by the time day turned into night, I again was reminded why college football-with all due respect to the Indianapolis Colts and the NFL-remains far and above the superior form of the game. Allow me to clarify. There is…

Are you ready for some football? Of course you are. That the Indianapolis Colts are making the first of not one, not two, but three appearances on ABC’s “Monday Night Football” is once again recognition of the obvious, which is that Jim Irsay’s ownership, Bill Polian’s leadership and Tony Dungy’s coaching have made the Horseshoes as hot a commodity nationally as they are locally. Not that Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James, Marvin Harrison, Dwight Freeney, Gary Brackett, Cato June et al…

In the small republic by the Baltic Sea-population 3.4 million-many youngsters grow up dreaming the same kinds of hoop dreams young Hoosiers do. “Basketball in Lithuania is even crazier,” Jasikevicius, a 6-foot-4-inch guard, said recently at Conseco Fieldhouse, moments after finishing his first official practice as a Pacer. “We always call it our second religion.” During the 50 years Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union, players from the republic were the nucleus of the USSR national teams. It was…

The Great American Pastime is past my time. I’ve pretty much ceased to care about Major League Baseball. Note that I said “major league.” I remain very much a fan of the Indianapolis Indians and the experience to be had in the country’s very best minor-league ballpark, Victory Field. I do know, albeit casually, that going into the last week of the regular season, there was considerable sorting out to be done before playoff participants could be determined, that the…

The circumstance finally gave way to pomp last week. And as the silver shovels glistened in a setting sun at the Indiana Stadium ground breaking, a new day dawned for Indianapolis and central Indiana. Similarly, the multipurpose stadium-sorry, but I refuse to call it the “Colts Stadium” when its benefits will be so vast and its uses so varied-represents both an end and a beginning. In some ways, it is the final piece of a puzzle that began to be…

That sellout crowds flocked to Carmel’s Crooked Stick Golf Club for the Solheim Cup should come as no surprise. This is an area with a big appetite for golf, whether playing or watching it. Yet it’s also a reminder that for all we have accomplished in spectator sports, professional golf remains the hole in our doughnut. Yes, we have had our on-and-off forays into the arena. A PGA Tour stop, the 500 Festival Open, took place on the old Speedway…