MIKE LOPRESTI: What’s in a name? It’s not always what you think
The monikers we associate with our favorite teams have interesting origins, among them are children, fires and passing thunderstorms.
Mike Lopresti
Articles
MIKE LOPRESTI: Back in Carmel, an Australian Open champ ponders the future
It took years for Rajeev Ram to win a major, but that victory makes an uncertain future for tennis easier to endure.
MIKE LOPRESTI: All-Star games have been full of winning moments
The struggling Indiana-Kentucky series is on pause because of the pandemic, but its new leader has pledged it will return.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Tamika, Harvey and other special dad/kid pairs
From the Mannings to the Unsers to the Griffeys, Hoosiers have been fortunate to witness some famous family acts.
MIKE LOPRESTI: In time of pandemic, Indy native happy to be taking the field in Korea
Mel Rojas Jr. was born here and played for the Indians at Victory Field. Now he’s thriving in the KBO League, the only one on the planet playing baseball.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Let’s revisit the last time IMS took a pause
The Speedway and other venues paused for more than one season as World War II monopolized priorities and resources.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Let’s watch these again—but with new endings
Our college and pro teams would like do-overs of some of their most heart-breaking defeats.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Indy works to change its sports-hosting playbook
Pandemic throws a new challenge at city’s time-tested ability to host giant sports events.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Get to know Philip Rivers, the Colts’ new QB
The son of a coach, Rivers and his wife have enough children to field their own flag football team.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Indiana’s ties to Hall of Fame run deeper than you think
You know the usual suspects—the Woodens, Knights and Birds—but what about Fred Zollner, Chuck Taylor and all the others?
MIKE LOPRESTI: Reaching into the vault for a reminder of what March can be
Key dates loom large in the March-madness history of six Indiana schools.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Forty years later, the heartbreak lingers from storied final four
The Andrean-New Albany and Marion-Broad Ripple matchups in 1980 provided unforgettable drama—and lasting scars.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Butler’s big run still paying off
Ten years after a gut-wrenching loss to Duke in the NCAA championship game, the campus is full of reminders that victory isn’t always measured on the scoreboard.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Forty years later, we could use another Miracle on Ice
The joy from our 1980 Olympic hockey victory over the Soviet Union put all Americans on the same team.
MIKE LOPRESTI: College basketball muscles in with big matchups
With college football winding down, we turn to the hardwood and some big games coming up for teams around the state.
Mike Lopresti: Seven-footers on the hardwood? It’s a Smits family tradition
Former Pacer Rik Smits and his son, Butler center Derrik Smits, talk basketball, family and the future.
Mike Lopresti: Emotion mixes with excitement as iconic track changes hands
Once the Hulman-George clan decided it was time to sell the family keepsake, could you think of anyone better? Anyone at all? Roger Penske has the magic name and the money and the expertise and credibility and the track record—both on and off the track.
MIKE LOPRESTI: College schedules laden with quirks
Intriguing match-ups, long stretches at home and away, and a team that plays a third of all its games before Dec. 1.
MIKE LOPRESTI: Men from golden age of IPS hoops are all on the same team now
They were fierce competitors on the court, but now they’re coming together to remember a bygone era.
MIKE LOPRESTI: At 49, Matt Painter is nearly the dean of Big Ten coaches
Thirty years after arriving on campus to play basketball, Purdue’s coach hasn’t lost his passion for the game.