Hope inspires progress. It’s the fuel for a better future.
The months and years ahead offer exciting and challenging times in many ways for Indiana State University, from its growing enrollment to the anticipated 2012 completion of the Scott College of Business in the former Federal Building in downtown Terre Haute. A young Sycamore student-athlete from Indianapolis added to the positive momentum last weekend.
Shakir Bell, a quick running back on the Sycamore football team, tied for runnerup in voting for the Walter Payton Award. Bell traveled to Frisco, Texas, for Friday night’s ceremony for the award presented annually to the top player in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. Bell and Lehigh quarterback Chris Lum tied for second in the balloting, just a few votes behind Payton Award winner Bo Levi Mitchell, quarterback at Eastern Washington.
Mitchell and Lum are seniors. Bell is a sophomore, with two seasons of playing eligibility remaining. The fact that Bell narrowly missed winning the award in just his second college season is significant. Only one sophomore has received the Payton Award in its 25-year history — Adrian Peterson (a Georgia Southern running back and future Chicago Bear) in 1999.
Besides that individual distinction, though, Bell’s recognition at such a young age should spark optimism in Sycamore football fans. The 5-foot, 7-inch, 185-pound Warren Central High School graduate led the nation in rushing last season with 1,670 yards, an ISU school record. With Bell in the backfield, the Sycamores have recorded back-to-back winning records, reversing the fortunes of the once-languishing program. His return for the 2012 and 2013 seasons inspires hope that even better days are ahead for the team.
Wisely, Bell himself labeled his youthful runnerup Payton Award finish an “incentive” for the entire Sycamore team.
“I never go into a year thinking about awards or rewards,” Bell told Tribune-Star sports reporter Andy Amey last week. “But this gives us all something to work toward.”
The idea of ISU producing a Payton Award winner would have been unimaginable a few seasons ago. Next autumn, the Sycamores could help their star ball carrier etch his name (and his school’s) alongside other Payton recipients such as Steve McNair (of Alcorn State), Peterson and Tony Romo (of Eastern Illinois). Last weekend’s voting, Bell said, “is a testament to how far [the Sycamores] have come.”
The community should enjoy the new opportunity to actually look forward to the next season of ISU football.
Editorials
EDITORIAL: Shakir Bell’s success gives boost to Sycamore football
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It comes as incredibly sad news that a Garfield Towers resident has succumbed as the result of a fire last week at the northside apartment complex.
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EDITORIAL: Independent running mates
Almost certainly, running mates will not influence voters choosing Indiana’s next governor.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news
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EDITORIAL: Hazards of the spring abundant now on I-70
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EDITORIAL: Embrace the Sycamores
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EDITORIAL: Good choice for stability
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EDITORIAL: Correcting the prison imbalance
Terre Haute will no longer count federal prisoners when the city slices its population into six equal City Council districts. That decision by the City Council last week to remove the inmates at the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Complex from the council district mathematical formula may not make waves, but it makes sense.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the News
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EDITORIAL: When it’s IU vs. UK, there’s got to be a way
If the annual Indiana-Kentucky basketball game was not significant, would the coaches of the two universities be talking like this?
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EDITORIAL: Sen. Lugar’s compelling message
Richard Lugar, no stranger to reading political tea leaves, undoubtedly knew for weeks that defeat was coming Tuesday night in his primary fight for re-election against a more-conservative-than-thou opponent. A statement Lugar released just hours after his loss of titantic proportions indicates that the six-term incumbent saw the reality even before he knew Richard Mourdock was to be his opponent this May.
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EDITORIAL: Reviewing the landscape
The compelling story line surrounding the race between Richard Lugar and Richard Mourdock dominated most of the local primary election chatter. With those stunning results now in the books and Mourdock heading toward a showdown with Democratic Party nominee Joe Donnelly of South Bend (the current U.S. House rep from the 2nd District), it’s time to survey the landscape for other general election races that will be worthy of attention.
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EDITORIAL: GOP changed; Lugar didn’t
Six terms. Overwhelming popularity. A statesman and a gentleman. A visionary. An icon in the annals of U.S. Senate leadership, even world leadership. So dominating on the political landscape that the opposing party did not even produce a candidate in the last election.
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EDITORIAL: An exercise in democracy
Primary elections rarely draw the same levels of participation as general elections.
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EDITORIAL: Fight against child abuse demands ongoing attention
As with many of our nation’s most maddening and perplexing social problems, one hardly knows how to fathom the egregious wrongs that occur when a child is abused.
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EDITORIAL: A ‘giant’ for his hometown
Home is where the heart is. That’s true for all of us. In addition, your heart can take you home.
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EDITORIAL: Curbing corruption a worthwhile crusade
If you are cynical about government, down to its most local levels, you may think it is overrun — or even controlled — by corruption.
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EDITORIAL: The politics of Primary 2012
In less than a week, voting Hoosiers get a chance to make a statement about the future of politics in their state and beyond. But whatever that statement turns out to be, the final punctuation marks won’t be added until November. It’s possible that nothing will be settled by the end of the night May 8.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news
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EDITORIAL: Hoosier Republicans should stick with Richard Lugar
Until late 2008, most Hoosiers were quite pleased — and in many cases, darn right proud — to call Richard Lugar their senior U.S. senator.
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EDITORIAL: Matt Branam: 1954-2012
The sudden death of 57-year-old Matt Branam on Friday morning continues to leave an air of sadness hanging over the community.
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EDITORIAL: A transplant from St. Ann’s
It would be understandable, for most of us, if we were madder than the opposite of heaven if a beloved, historic, personal part of our lives was to be taken away against our will.
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EDITORIAL: Pragmatic approach to downtown development benefits community
Terre Haute has known for some time now that Indiana State University’s master plan includes creation of student residential centers off-campus in the nearby downtown area.
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TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: A salute to pride of ’55
Terre Haute gets the chance to witness and appreciate the extent of its rich baseball legacy this Saturday. Its past and present will merge at Bob Warn Field.
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EDITORIAL: A match of Mitt and Mitch?
Not every Indiana governor’s endorsement of a presidential candidate has made instant national news as did Mitch Daniels’ support for Mitt Romney on Wednesday.
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EDITORIAL: Drilling for fairness
Consistency and fairness were on trial Monday as the Vigo County commissioners grappled with a controversial rezoning request from a property owner who wants to drill for oil on his land near Hawthorn Park northeast of Terre Haute.
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EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news
Cheers, jeers and tears
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EDITORIAL: Be fair, consistent, but keep smokefree ordinance on track
The steps toward a healthier, more vibrant community should continue moving forward.
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EDITORIAL: Inspired by tradition, celebration
With the observance of Orthodox Easter on Sunday, the spring holy holidays for Christians and Jews will have passed for another year.
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EDITORIAL: No need to sing the blues
The words from Terre Haute Board of Works President Bob Murray on Monday afternoon were as sweet to the ear as a blues riff from an electric guitar: “The bottom line is, [Blues at the Crossroads] should be able to operate just as it has before. It will get worked out.”
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EDITORIAL: Traps abound in online world
For parents, guardians, civil authorities and those who supervise and nurture children of all ages, there is nothing new in the notion that the online world of digital communications is fraught with danger.
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