All Hail the Titans
Mega congratulations to the Tech Titans on their victory over the Cathedral Irish in the Indianapolis City Championship tourney. This is the second time in three years that the Titans have won the trophy. Tech’s senior point guard and a possible Mr. Basketball candidate C. J. Walker lead the team to a 60-55 victory. After beating Cathedral 66-58 to win the 2014 City Championship, the guys in green went on to win the Class 4A State Championship. You never want to count your chickens before they hatch, but a possible state championship is something for Titans fans to consider. The boss, my son Chris, my late father, and many other family members are Tech alum and bleed green, so a big Weekly View high five to Coach Jason Delaney and his Arsenal Technical Titans for their hard-earned success!
Number 18 is Back in the Big Show
So Peyton Manning will be wearing Denver Bronco orange in Super Bowl 50. Statistically, 2015 has been Peyton’s least productive season. Playing behind an injury-decimated offensive line, Peyton completed 198 of 331 passing attempts for 2,249 yards, 9 touchdowns and a jaw-dropping 17 interceptions. He played in ten games and was finally benched for ineffectiveness. Most people felt that he was done and backup Brock Osweiler simply had taken the starting job. The media was saying Peyton was done and should retire. The Broncos went 12-4 this season to win the AFC West title but it was the Bronco defense that won the games, not the offense. You will recall that the Colts hung a 27-24 loss on the Broncos when they came back to Lucas Oil stadium on November 8. Lucas Oil is the house that Peyton built, but he has returned here twice with the Broncos and lost both times. Denver will meet the Carolina Panthers on February 7 at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara in the Bay Area. Carolina is lead by quarterback Cam Newton. Newton had a MVP season, leading the Panthers to a 17-1 season and a trip to the big dance. The Panthers are a 5.5 point favorite as of this writing. This is Peyton’s fourth trip to the big game. He went twice with the Colts and this is his second time with the Broncos. He is 1-2 so far. Let’s hope he can make it 2-2 this time. Oh, BTY, number 18 says he has no intention of retiring. He fully intends to play in the 2016 season, no matter if it’s with the Broncos or wherever. Also you can bet that his famous pre-snap audible “OMAHA” will be heard by many. Someday the mystery of what Omaha really means will be solved.
Olympic Fever
The Indiana Fever has announced that two of the Fever players are finalists to be on the roster of the USA Women’s 2016 Olympic Basketball Team. Tamika Catchings and Briann January are among 25 finalists to be chosen for the team. For Catchings, this is old stuff. It will be the fourth time she goes to the Olympics. For January, it would be her first time. The Weekly View salutes these talented ladies and wishes them both continued success. They bring honor to the city and great pride to the Fever fans.
Colts Hires
The Colts have hired former Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin to be their offense line coach. Philbin is 54 years old. He was the Dolphin’s head coach from 2012 to half way through 2015 when he was released due to a loss of player control. Philbin spent nine seasons with the Green Bay Packers in various coaching functions before going to the Dolphins. He was the offensive coordinator at Harvard University in 1997-98. It’s hoped he can finally stabilize the offensive line which has been a problem for the Big Blue since Andrew Luck’s arrival.
Wide receiver, kick returner, and fan favorite Griff Whalen has been released by the Colts. Whalen was a teammate of Andrew Luck’s at Stanford. Whalen was signed as a free agent in 2012 and was placed on the practice squad. The 5’ 11’, 190 pounder has been on the active roster since 2013. He has acted as a fourth wide out and kick returner during this time. Whalen has 45 career receptions for 487 yards and 3 touchdowns. He has returned 46 punts for 376 yards and 25 kickoffs for 645 yards. Griffin was released after the 2014 season so look for him to be resigned before the Colts’ training camp starts.
The Colts have several unrestricted free agents to resign. Tight ends Colby Fleenor and Dwayne Allen are both unsigned. Linebacker Jerrell Freeman is unsigned. Safety Dwight Lowery signed a one year deal in 2015 and helped stabilize the Colts pass defense. The team wants him back. Cornerback Gregg Tolar’s contract is up. Tolar has played well when he was healthy but has missed a lot of time with injuries, so Tolar may not return to the team. The biggest name is placekicker Adam Vinatieri. Vinatieri will be 42 years old and is the oldest player in the league. He is still one of the league’s most effective kickers and has shown no signs of letting up. He also wants to remain a Colt. Look for Vinatieri to be wearing Colts Blue next season.
snicewanger@yahoo.com