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We got game-what’s next?: Super Bowl may require 10 times the personnel of Final Four

While landing another Super Bowl may be a long shot, local leaders clearly intend to show what Indianapolis is capable of accomplishing. “Our perspective is that this is a one-shot deal,” said local attorney Jack Swarbrick, who was part of a small contingency that traveled to Atlanta last week for the bid presentation to NFL owners. “But if we do this, and we do it well, the world will know we can do anything. If you’re thinking of Indianapolis hosting…

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SPORTS: City’s Super Bowl score was decades in the making

Shoot, if I’d known city leaders were going to resurrect Dennis Hopper-Shooter, from my alltime favorite flick, “Hoosiers”- for the Super Bowl bid video, I would have suggested they also use Hickory High player Merle and paraphrase his memorable line: “Let’s win it for all the smaller NFL-designated market areas that never had a chance to get here.” Yes, we are the nation’s 13th-largest city. Thank you, UniGov. But in terms of market size, we’re 26th or so. Certainly not…

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Commentary: Putting rush hour on ICE

Last week, after spending $71.83 to fill up my car, I said to myself, “Tomorrow, I’m taking the bus.” So I did. It wasn’t my first time on the new IndyGo commuter bus from Carmel; it was my fourth in the last five weeks. On that particular day, I was fed up. It was the first time that gassing up cost me more than $70, and it made an impression. I guess that’s what it’s going to take for all…

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INVESTING: It’s time to sift through the retail bargain bin

Anyone who knows me will agree with what I am about to say. I am not a trendy guy. Fashion escapes me. If you see me on the street, you won’t think I am caught in some kind of time warp, but I don’t rush out and buy the latest fad. That explains why, for my 13 years in this business, I have generally stayed away from retail-related stocks. Even so, I know some people make a lot of money…

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Pats fan shown Hoosier hospitality

New Hampshire teen-ager Anna Grant, treated like a villain in the RCA Dome four months ago, is being treated like a queen today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Grant, 14, made news when she…

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Rain doesn’t stall Carb Day party

Rain today didn’t dampen attendance at the Indianapolis Motors Speedway. Cars lined up for more than two hours along 16th Street to get in to the famed Brickyard for Carb Day.

And crowds did not…

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IRL, Honda sign deal through 2013

Honda and the Indy Racing League officials announced today they have reached a deal to make the Japanese auto maker the engine supplier to the open-wheel racing series through 2013.

Honda officials said they still hope IRL officials will bring in…

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Indy 500 teams still lack sponsors

For all the touting of higher television ratings, attendance and series Web site visits, there’s one glaring shortcoming that shows the Indy Racing League still has challenges.

Fourteen of the 33 cars that qualified…

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IRL signs 5-year Long Beach deal

Indy Racing League officials today confirmed they have finalized a contract to hold a race in a new, important market next year.

The IRL signed a five-year deal with The Grand Prix Association of…

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Anatomy of a Super vote

If you’re wondering how the voting action went behind closed doors for the 2012 Super Bowl site Tuesday in Atlanta, this is what several team owners and executives told IBJ.

Indianapolis, followed by Phoenix, then Houston made separate 15-minute pitches. Only four…

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Labor storm could hurt Super Bowl

There’s a dark cloud hovering over Indianapolis’ selection by National Football League owners to host the 2012 Super Bowl.

The roar that raced from Atlanta where the decision was made Tuesday to Indianapolis almost…

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Former foe backs Indy’s Super bid

Super Bowl site selections can create odd alliances among the 32 wealthy fellows casting the votes. The man who last year single-handedly dismantled Indianapolis’ bid to host the 2011 game came this year to the Circle City’s defense.

With Indianapolis embroiled…

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Anti-Indy sentiment persists

There are still plenty of people in NFL circles who think Indianapolis is no place for a Super Bowl. And yes, some of those are among the 32 team owners and other team executives. Indianapolis remains a favorite today to…

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Super Bowl lobbying effort goes OT

Indianapolis won round 1 of the battle to host the 2012 Super Bowl. After a Super Bowl committee meeting this afternoon, it was determined that Indianapolis will present first, followed by Phoenix, then Houston. Indianapolis will give its 15-minute presentation…

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Little things key to Indy 500 win

They say a picture says a thousand words. This one taken today of the 33 Indy Racing League drivers that qualified for the Indianapolis 500 in New York certainly does.

Granted, the drivers were…

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Phoenix, Houston take aim at Indy

As of noon, the IBJ reporting team (that’s me) has officially touched down in the Buckhead district of Atlanta where the 32 National Football League owners will decide which of three bidding cities will host the 2012 Super Bowl. While…

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SPORTS: A smorgasbord of sports, both good and bad

Of this, that and the other: Indiana University has filed its official response to the NCAA infractions committee regarding the violations allegedly committed by former men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson. And Sampson has filed his response to IU’s response. He believes he’s been cast as a liar and a cheat. If only it weren’t true. I’m also troubled by his complaint that the IU compliance staff didn’t monitor the basketball coaches closely enough. How about some self-compliance, Kelvin? Fact is,…

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FUNNY BUSINESS: Begging for a Super Bowl: The ego and the bid

And so another Indianapolis Super Duper Bowl offering is in the hands of the immortals, also known as the NFL owners, delivered there by scrubbed, shining, briefcase-toting eighth graders. Now we know how far some adults will go to avoid rejection. The kids were chosen for this mission to, in the words of the organizers, show that the entire community wants to host the 2012 Championship of the World (Not Including All The Countries Outside The United States.) What a…

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Downtown firm specializes in unusual loans: Equities First Holdings sees growing demand for stock loans as tight credit markets make borrowing tougher

With a cadre of six flat-screen monitors blanketing one side of his desk, Equities First Holdings LLC’s Al Christy Jr. keeps a close eye on the performance of several stocks he’s holding as collateral. No, he’s not some sort of loan shark. He’s what’s known as a stock lender. The unusual premise is that market investors in need of prompt funding transfer shares to Christy who, in turn, lends his clients up to 80 percent of the stock’s value, although…

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Simon, Morris turn up effort to make Fever profitable

The Indiana Fever could spike this year. Ticket sales, sponsorship and the local buzz about the team are on the rise. But
perhaps most important, the Fever have key advocates in the Pacers Sports & Entertainment front office that the team simply
hasn’t had before.

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