Bill Benner

If ever there were a team in need of a break-lucky, all-star, rest or otherwise-that team would be the Indiana Pacers. At risk of stating the obvious, in all the years I’ve followed that franchise or other sports organizations in general, I cannot recall a more star-crossed season. It began with preseason injuries, spiked the moment that beer cup landed on Ron Artest’s noggin, and since has been a steady drip-drip-drip of injuries and illnesses sprinkled on top of the…

Lance Armstrong beating cancer, the Tour de France field and the French press. The Red Sox, down 0-3, over the Yankees. Never say never. “And down the stretch they come!” at the Kentucky Derby. “Gentlemen, start your engines,” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The alpenglow on the San Gabriels above the Rose Bowl late in the third quarter. A three-pointer to win at the buzzer … unless it’s against the Pacers. Hinkle Fieldhouse, anytime. Amen Corner on an April Sunday…

MIAMI-As individuals, we are a psychiatrist, a dentist, a college fund-raiser, a couple of small-businessmen, a couple of distributors of adult beverages, and one old and mostly broken-down sportswriter. But, collectively, we are a basketball team, wearing the uniforms of the Indiana Pacers, our names sewn on the backs; receiving first-class coaching and instruction; practicing on the floor of Conseco Fieldhouse; road-tripping to Miami; staying in premium digs; having team meals; getting pregame inspiration from none other than Pacers coaching…

I had a terrific lunch-time conversation with someone involved in college athletics, a person whose perspectives I admire because I know he hasn’t come to them easily. The jumping-off point for our discussion was the recent formation of the College Basketball Partnership, or CBP. It is a collection of coaches, administrators, broadcasters and NCAA staff, convened at the urging of NCAA President Myles Brand. Its task is to “address the challenges and opportunities” facing college basketball, especially at the Division…

For more than 30 years, I arrived at sporting events focusing primarily on the outcome, searching for a good angle, collecting a few quotes, and hoping to beat deadline. The only times I ever really noticed the staging of an event was to complain about it. I had a bad seat at the press table … or the final box score was too slow in arriving … or there weren’t enough telephones … or, the sorriest gripe of all, the…

Back, by little demand, my annual list of wants and realities for the New Year (please do not clip and save). Want: Same as last year, and the year before, and the year before. That Peyton Manning leads the Colts to a Super Bowl victory and validates his MVP status (for those who still believe he’s not as good as he is). The euphoria over the Horseshoes’ Super Bowl triumph then forces the General Assembly’s hand, and the stadium-Convention Center-expansion…