Opening Night at the Vic
What’s the best way to celebrate the beginning of spring in Indianapolis? By attending the opening night Indians game at Victory Field, of course. The night was beautiful, the crowd was large and enthusiastic, and the Tribe gave the fans an exciting 4-3 victory over the Toledo Mudhens. The Boss and I were joined in our vernal celebration by our son Chris which made the evening even more enjoyable. We had great seats behind home plate and a panoramic view of both the game and the city skyline. Popcorn, nachos and cold liquid refreshment were on the menu and I, of course, attacked and consumed one of the Tribe’s “Monster” foot long hot dogs! To add to our excitement, the three of us were invited up to see some of the game action and the fireworks display from the radio broadcast booth where we were able to observe the legendary Howard Kellman and color man Will Fleming call the game. We also got to meet Howard’s lovely and charming wife Robin. It was a very special night for all three of us and one that we will long remember.
The Indiana Fever Draft
The Fever struck gold in the 2014 WNBA draft with their selection of Florida State forward Natasha Howard with the fifth pick and Notre Dame forward Natalie Achonwa with the ninth pick. Both were considered top prospects this year. Howard was one of the ACC’s top players and a second team All-American who averaged 20.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She is from Toledo, Ohio and is considered to be the consummate team player. Natasha was considered by many to be the top power forward available in the 2014 draft. She will back up Tamika Catchings until she learns the pro game fully. She is the highest pick the Fever has been able to make since 2005. Indiana fans are familiar with Natalie Achonwa, after seeing her help lead the Lady Irish to four straight final four appearances. The Canadian lass had a career average of 14 points per game. Natalie injured her left ACL in the semi final against Baylor on March 31 and will have to sit out the 2014 season. If this had not been the case, Ms. Achonwa would not have been available with the ninth pick.
The Fever didn’t have a second round pick but chose Gonzaga guard Haiden Palmer with the fifth pick of the third round. The 5’ 8” senior was team captain for two years and an All West Coast Conference player in 2013.
Long Beach Grand Prix
The second leg of the 2014 Indy Car season, the grand Prix of Long Beach, was held last Sunday. Long Beach is second in fan popularity only to the Indianapolis 500. England’s Mike Conway, driving for Ed Carpenter Racing, survived a late race mishap to take the checkered flag in his Chevy powered Dallera for his third career victory, all of which have come on street courses. The 30 year-old will drive only road courses and street circuits for the Fuzzy’s Premium Vodka sponsored team and Carpenter, last year’s Indy pole winner, will handle the oval duties.
Will Power, who won the opener at St. Petersburg, finished second for Team Penske and Juan Montoya finished fourth. A collision between Ryan Hunter-Reay and Leader Josef Newgarden, who was then leading the race on lap 56, led to the elimination of seven cars including defending Indy 500 Champ Tony Kanaan.
The next round of racing is the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama at Birmingham on April 27, then on to Indianapolis on May 10.
Michael Schumacher
Former F-1 champion Michael Schumacher, who was critically injured with trauma to his head in a fall while skiing last December 29 is reported to be showing small signs of improvement according to his doctors. On March 7, Schumacher was removed from the medically induced coma he had been placed in and is currently in the “wake up” phase of his treatment. The former driver is reported to have experienced short moments of consciousness and wakefulness according to his wife. The process of recovery will be a very long one but doctors and family are cautiously optimistic that Schumacher will recover.
Indy Eleven
Congratulations to the Indy Eleven Soccer Team on a very successful opening night at Carroll Stadium last Saturday night. A capacity crowd of 11,048 was on hand to watch former Indiana University standout Mike Ambersley score the first goal in the clubs history. The Eleven played the Carolina Railhawks to a 1-1 tie. Coach Juergen Sommer said the whole Eleven team was energized by the size of the crowd and their enthusiasm. The Eleven’s next game is at home against the Tampa Bay Rowdies this Saturday night, April 19 at Carroll Stadium.
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