News From Terre Haute, Indiana

Hughes News & Views

May 25, 2006

Hughes, News & Views: For some questions, there may be no answers

TERRE HAUTE — OK, I know most of you adults are packing for a quick trip or buying stuff today for a Memorial Day weekend cookout.

You don’t need to tell me that you’re too busy to answer a bunch of questions.

But reading my annual questions column won’t take long and you probably need a break from all that holiday stress anyway.

And if you actually know one or more of the answers that I’m seeking, I might actually mention your superior intelligence in a future column.

So before you throw that meat on the grill — fix me a cheeseburger with just ketchup while you’re at it — help a brother out and answer if you can:

n What percentage of men over 40 in this country want to see Barry Bonds pass Hank Aaron’s career home-run record of 755 next season? (I know I don’t.)

n Will Andy Amey’s Chicago Cubs catch Tom Reck’s Pittsburgh Pirates for last place in the National League Central Division? (The Cubs seem to be trying pretty hard.)

n Speaking of Chicago sports, could there be a dumber decision than if Bears running back Thomas Jones holds out for a new contract when mandatory team events begin soon? And could there be an easier way to hand Cedric Benson the starting job and never get it back? (Jones hasn’t said that he will hold out, but the possibility exists because his new agent is Drew Rosenhaus and he has stated that he wants more money.)

n If I shamelessly plug the popular profootballtalk.com national Web site in this column for a second straight year, will I get mentioned in its “Rumor Mill” section again? (I’d prefer a more flattering mention than last year, though.)

n What can be done to improve the struggling Indiana State football, baseball and volleyball programs before their next seasons?

n Can the Indiana State women’s basketball program continue performing at a high level without graduated Terre Haute products Melanie Boeglin and Kristen Weddle?

n How surprised was Ken Gentrup when he learned he’ll be back to coach North Vermillion High School’s girls basketball team after all?

n If Danica Patrick wins the Indianapolis 500 Sunday, will she become the most famous Indy driver ever?

n Will car owner/talk-show host David Letterman be part of the post-Indy 500 news conference this year?

n Will moody Mother Nature allow the Terre Haute Action Track to resume its normal racing schedule?

n Will there ever be a week when I get railroaded less than three times while driving my car through the streets of Terre Haute? (Going out of town for vacation doesn’t count.)

n Will the Indiana Pacers trade center Jermaine O’Neal in an attempt to shake things up?

n Did the National Hockey League ever settle its labor dispute? I haven’t been paying attention lately.

n Will the Indianapolis Colts’ tradition of past/future Hall of Fame running backs (Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James) continue with first-round draft pick Joseph Addai? (I’ll settle for him being a good blocker and breakaway running threat at this point.)

n Does the timing of Marvin Harrison’s recent elbow surgery suggest the wide receiver may have a lingering problem that’s worse than the Colts are letting us know? Or am I just overly panicky?

n Will I ever stop screaming at my television when I see those commercials for the “Sports Illustrated” Pittsburgh Steelers Collector’s Edition (especially the part where Ben Roethlisberger tackles Nick Harper)?

Come to think of it, I know the answer to that last question — “Nooooo!”



David Hughes can be reached by phone at 1-800-783-8742, Option 4, or at (812) 231-4224; by e-mail at david.hughes@tribstar.com; or by fax at (812) 231-4321.

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Hughes News & Views
  • Terre Haute runner sets up race to help Boston

    Having competed in the Boston Marathon once before in 2003, 35-year-old Majel Wells of Terre Haute thought she should give it another try in 2013.
    “My goal was just to finish and enjoy Boston,” she reflected this week. “I had an injury [runner’s knee] beforehand, so I wasn’t too worried about beating my time from 2003 [4 hours, 10.20 seconds].
    “But nobody cares about what your time is at Boston anyway.”
    From what I’ve heard over the years, she’s right. Unless you’re a super-serious runner, the Boston Marathon has been more about taking in the atmosphere and having fun than placing in the top 50, although Wells was pleased that she beat her previous time by finishing in 3:55.19 on April 15.
    Obviously, her race time wasn’t the most vivid memory that Wells took away from her 2013 Boston experience.

    April 26, 2013

  • SPT 022610 MIKE SAYLOR.jpg Former South players to play in Saylor benefit game

    I had my first phone conversation with Mike Saylor since mid-February on Thursday and he sounded good.
    The former Terre Haute South High School boys basketball coach, who’s been battling cancer this year, has been traveling back and forth to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for chemotherapy treatments.

    April 19, 2013 1 Photo

  • Recent South swimmers Roach, Bray heading to DI nationals

    I’m sure most of you with office jobs can relate.
    When work gets busy, sometimes it’s easy to skim over our emails. After all, how many times do we need to read the same nonsense from alleged Nigerians wanting to make us rich if we’ll send them several thousand dollars first?
    So after having three consecutive days off, that almost happened to me when I returned to work Tuesday. Then I realized that the message from Jeff Thompson, Terre Haute South High School’s boys and girls swimming coach, contained significant news.

    March 20, 2013

  • SPT-030697-HALT-SHOOTS.jpg NCAA Division III basketball tournament returns to Rose-Hulman

    The last time Rose-Hulman served as host for the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament, its game was played inside an old World War II airplane hangar.
    You “old-timers” should know the building I’m talking about and the matchup wasn’t really that long ago — March 6, 1997, to be exact.

    March 1, 2013 2 Photos

  • SPT 012508 SAYLOR FILE.jpg DAVID HUGHES: Childhood friends use faith, sports to get them through

    When I learned in February 2009 that a rare form of appendix cancer would devastate my life and cause me to miss work for several months, Mike Saylor was among the first to offer assistance.

    February 17, 2013 3 Photos

  • Book review: Thumbs up for ‘Trophies and Tears’

    Now might be too late for giving Christmas presents, but the book “Trophies and Tears: The Story of Evansville and the Aces” is a fascinating read for longtime Indiana basketball fans, particularly those older than 40.
    Written by award-winning Kyle Keiderling of Henderson, Nev., and released in hardcover format in mid-December, the 480-page “Trophies and Tears” documents the rich tradition of the University of Evansville men’s basketball program through recent interviews and research of old yearbooks and newspaper/scrapbook clippings.
    The book contains many cheery moments — behind-the-scenes details of all five NCAA College Division (now known as Division II) championships won in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s by the Purple Aces and their legendary coach Arad McCutchan — although some of those moments don’t seem so cheery from an Indiana State perspective when the Sycamores found themselves on the losing end of scores.

    December 26, 2012

  • Hughes, News & Views: Wishing for Colts-Broncos playoff matchup from Santa

    There’s plenty of tragedy in the world to bring us down if we let it, so let’s have a light-hearted column today — my annual Christmas gift requests for Santa Claus.
    I already know one of my gift wishes is becoming less likely to happen. That would be for the Indianapolis Colts to face the Denver Broncos in the AFC playoffs.

    December 20, 2012

  • Colts' loyalty tested by Manning, Broncos

    We’re approaching the halfway point of the NFL season and so far it’s been surprisingly enjoyable.
    I wasn’t sure how I would handle following two favorite teams — 1a.) the Indianapolis Colts and 1b.) Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos — but the new arrangement hasn’t caused me any loyalty conflicts yet.
     

    November 2, 2012

  • HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Sorting out the sports air waves

    My name isn’t attached to them, but I’m the one who usually puts together the “Sports on the air” television/radio listings that appear daily on this newspaper’s Scoreboard Page.

    October 1, 2012

  • SPT091312gutish.jpg Hughes, News & Views: North junior ready to go racing

    When we last visited 16-year-old Rachel Gutish, she was finishing sixth in the Women’s Enduro X race in the nationally televised Summer X Games at Los Angeles.

    September 20, 2012 1 Photo

  • HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Yelovich still striking the ball long on LDA Tour

    In June 2011, I wrote a feature story about former Indiana State basketball center Mick Yelovich making a name for himself as a golfer on the Long Drivers Association (LDA) Tour.
     

    July 20, 2012

  • HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Colts? Broncos? Maybe there’s more than enough room for both

    I’ve got a longtime buddy who I’m fairly sure rarely, if ever, reads this column.

    July 14, 2012

  • SPT120410THNBBB jones1.jpg HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Point of Jones’ return

    Since May 14, Indiana high school basketball fans have wondered why Jim Jones would want to come out of retirement at 74.
     

    June 12, 2012 3 Photos

  • HUGHES, NEWS & VIEWS: Questions abound for Indy 500, Manning, baseball sectional

    Phones are ringing less frequently in the Tribune-Star sports department this week.

    May 26, 2012

  • Hughes, News & Views: Hutson getting ready for final stretch toward Olympic Trials

    If Kylie Hutson were a cross-country runner, she’d be approaching the final stretch of her biggest race in about three weeks.

    May 10, 2012

  • HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Rose basketball alumni offer advice to current team

    Bryan Egli and Joe Puthoff, both Rose-Hulman basketball starters I covered in the late 1990s, took their degrees from the prestigious engineering institute and found successful careers in the Indianapolis area.
    Egli, also a former West Vigo High School multi-sport standout, lives in Carmel and works for Thieneman Construction in Westfield. Puthoff lives in Indy and works for Rolls Royce Aircraft Engines.

    March 2, 2012

  • DAVID HUGHES: Super Bowl odds getting stranger and stranger

    Today’s annual “Super Bowl odds column” feels special to me because I’ve been a diehard NFL fan since 1967 and next Sunday will be the first time the big game takes place in our great state of Indiana.

    January 29, 2012

  • HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Coach’s book a chance to remember North Vermillion state champs

    Almost 10 years ago, February 2002 to be exact, the New England Patriots upset the high-powered St. Louis Rams to win Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans, the Winter Olympics entertained spectators in Salt Lake City and Terre Haute South High School’s girls basketball team started its tournament run toward a Class 4A state title.

    January 20, 2012

  • HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Plenty of sports-related gifts for columnist's wish list

    Last week, I was all set to beg Santa Claus to give the Indianapolis Colts a certificate good for one NFL regular-season victory.
    Then the 2011 Colts decided to play like the 2009 Colts and clobber the Tennessee Titans on Sunday for their first win of the season. So that present won’t be necessary.

    December 23, 2011

  • HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: WTHI defends decision not to show Colts

    When your favorite NFL team is threatening to finish 0-16, you have to figure a few fans will jump off the bandwagon.

    December 2, 2011

  • HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Former South coach Rady makes it look easy

    Jack Butcher, Howard Sharpe and Bill Stearman.

    November 17, 2011

  • HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Wheldon's genuine personality a devastating loss to racing

    Lori Wood, the Tribune-Star’s Indianapolis 500 correspondent since 2000, planned to visit a friend in California and take in the IndyCar Las Vegas 300 as a ticket-buying fan last weekend.

    October 21, 2011

  • HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Past greats proud of ISU’s recent improvements

    Indiana State football alum Chris “Big C” Hicks will turn 58 Saturday and he knows exactly what he wants for his birthday.

    October 14, 2011

  • HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Rose-Hulman hungry for first football victory of season

    The Engineers have not endured a losing season since 2004. But they’ve opened this season at 0-2, causing Sokol to admit they’re desperate for a win.
    “We’re all very hungry for a victory,” he said after practice Thursday. “We all want to taste victory really, really bad.”

    September 23, 2011

  • Valley semipro football team reaches championship of IFL

    The West Central Wildcats’ semipro football team from Terre Haute has been written about before in this column space over the last two years.

    September 17, 2011

  • HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Colts cheerleaders glad to get back on field

    When I heard the NFL lockout finally ended this week, I looked for someone affiliated with the Indianapolis Colts to get a reaction.

    July 30, 2011

  • Amateur boxing card set for outdoors at Show-Me's

    We all know what Show-Me’s sports bar is famous for around Terre Haute, right?
    Chicken wings, of course.

    July 15, 2011

  • SPT070611porter rest.jpg HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Porter’s persistence keeps his boxing career going

    When I walked in Sweatbox Gym through the alley door Wednesday, I wondered if a time machine had taken me back to the 1950s, the glory days of boxing.

    July 9, 2011 4 Photos

  • HUGHES, NEWS AND VIEWS: Seaton aces chance for more Div. 1 volleyball

    Plagued by one injury after another after another, Kristen Seaton was ready to turn off the lights on her volleyball career.
    In her mind, the party was over.
     

    July 1, 2011

  • HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Semi-pro football team to kick off season today

    If you’re worried about the NFL season being canceled and you can’t wait months for the college and high school seasons to begin, you can get your football fix tonight at Memorial Stadium.

    June 11, 2011

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