Happy Holidays

Hello all,

Tis the holiday season. Unfortunately for college students, that also means it's finals season. I've been pretty busy as of late. So I apologize for not being very "blog active." But things will be calming down here soon. Here is my most recent Spotlight article for Purdue Today. It was a fun and interesting piece. These people have the REAL holiday spirit. I think you will all enjoy it!

Photo gallery: Purdue Memorial Union's gingerbread house

Nothing says Christmas quite like an edible house.

That is the philosophy of Purdue Memorial Union's Dining Services, which began constructing gingerbread houses in 2002. The giant, walk-in homes are displayed prominently next to the Christmas tree in the Union's Great Hall as part of Holidays at the Union, which takes place this week. A photo gallery featuring the construction of this year's house is available here.

The PMU maintenance department constructs and dismantles the house, which is made out of plywood. After the house is built, the gingerbread, which takes the bakery department about two weeks to make, is adhered to the plywood with royal icing. A graham cracker roof is tiled on top, and then the designers are free to have fun.

"At this point decorating is the task," says executive chef Bruce Haumesser. "Candy is put into place, along with any other decorating creativeness that evolves. Powder sugar the roof to look like snow, cotton in the chimney to look like smoke and voila, a gingerbread house."

The bakery department, along with Dining Services, makes all of the gingerbread and supplies the decorations.

From 2002 to 2008, the basic structure of the houses remained the same. Each was 6 feet wide, 9 feet deep and 9 feet high.

This holiday season will feature an entirely new design. The house size has not yet been determined, but Haumesser says it won't be quite as tall and will be a bit wider. There will be two additional rooms to go along with the two gingerbread people, and the house itself should resemble a chalet.

"I have in my office a picture of every year's house from conception, and it is always interesting to see what we manage to accomplish each year," says Haumesser. "You really never know what you are going to come up with until you are finished. That's what makes it fun."

More on Holidays at the Union can be found here.

Train Kept on a Rollin'

My article from day two of the Basketball Travelers Classic is below, but I thought I would lead into it with some trendy results I squandered up from the weekend.

The Boilermaker Special kept on rollin' and cemented its place in history as the best-worst team EVER, in ANY sport, with a 38-21 whooping of IU in the Old Oaken Bucket game. Purdue has won 11 of the last 13, which prompted me to do a little research. Here are the all-time, head-to-head results, in the Purdue-IU rivalry. Not that this needs mentioning, but the Boilers lead in ALL of these. I think this is proof enough that Purdue is THE Indiana University.

Football: 70-36-6, (56-26-3 in the Old Oaken Bucket era)
Men's basketball: 108-84
Women's basketball: 43-26
Volleyball: 49-31
Soccer: 9-1-2
Softball: 20-12

Purdue sport Saturday results:

-Volleyball wins final home game of the season against OSU, 3-1. Carrie Gurnell eclipses the 1,000 kill mark.

-Purdue women lose to Dayton in the final seconds of their second game in the BTI Classic. Despite the loss, this was one of the best women's games I have seen in a while.

-#16 men's swimming and diving team remains in third place after day two of their three-day tourney (Current standings: Louisville 616.5 points, OSU 609, Purdue 537, Missouri State 216.5)

-As mentioned earlier, football retained the Old Oaken Bucket with a 38-21 win over IU in Bloomington. Joey Elliott reached the 3,000 passing yards mark and threw a career high four TD's in the process. Keith Smith finished with over 1,000 receiving yards on the season. Ralph Bolden, however, didn't play much and did not reach the 1,000 yard rushing mark. Joe McConnell called his final game in the radio booth.

-The men's basketball team did not play, but the Boilers are in action tonight in their second game of the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. They play St. Joseph's, and pending the seeds hold, No. 7 Purdue will play No. 10 Tennessee in the championship game on Monday.

Rebounding costly to Purdue women

Three ties. Seven lead changes. One staggering statistic.

The Purdue women's basketball team found itself on the wrong end of an enormous deficit in Saturday's 56-53 loss to Dayton in Mackey Arena. The Flyers pulled down 42 rebounds (24 offensive), while Purdue managed only 25 total.

"The bottom line is the rebounding," coach Sharon Versyp said. "We did a great job defensively and they shot and they missed and they went after their boards. ... We played great defense, but we don't know how to finish yet."

The Boilers held Dayton to just 32 percent shooting, but the Flyers scored 17 points via second chance opportunities. Sophomore forward Sam Woods, who played in her first game after serving an NCAA-mandated two-game suspension, led Purdue with four rebounds to go along with six points.

Guards FahKara Malone and Brittany Rayburn led the Boilermaker offensive attack with 17 and 12 points, while the team shot a collective 45 percent. But the 16 extra shot attempts Dayton earned by hitting the glass remains the difference between a win and defeat.

Despite the rebounding deficit, Purdue was in the game right up to the last second.

Freshman guard KK Houser made a 3-pointer with 10:27 remaining to cut Dayton's lead to 41-37. Offensive fouls on Houser and Rayburn in the ensuing possessions awoke the dormant Purdue offense, which erupted for a 16-5 run. Malone had 11 in the span, including back-to-back 3-pointers to give Purdue a 53-46 lead.

"We were just getting pumped up," Malone said. "We pulled together really well."

But Dayton responded in the final three minutes with a 10-0 run of its own, all but two points coming at the free throw line.

With the score tied at 53, Houser turned the ball over while attempting to find Rayburn. Fittingly, freshman forward Brittany Wilson gathered an offensive rebound and scored the tiebreaking basket

Purdue freshman center Chelsea Jones turned the ball over with three seconds left to seal Purdue's fate.

"We didn't execute what I asked," Versyp said.

Dayton, which plays Seattle in today's final game of the Basketball Travelers Classic, has defeated two Top 25 teams (Michigan State and Purdue, which was ranked in the coaches' poll).

"I love our team's heart," coach Jim Jabir said. "I think they're too young to know what they're doing out there."

Versyp will use the loss as a learning experience.

"I thought it was a great battle," Versyp said. "We haven't been in a situation where we've been down so I thought our kids really battled back, and we grew."

The Ollllld Oaken Bucket

It's a busy weekend to be a sports fan, especially a die-hard Boilermaker. The volleyball team became one of only four teams to take a set from the two-time defending national champion Penn State Nittany Lions this year. However, the Boilers were ultimately overpowered and fell in four sets. The wrestling team upset No. 9 Missouri on the road Friday. The men's basketball team won the first game of the Paradise jam in the Virgin Islands, and the women's basketball team cruised by Seattle in the first of their three game, round robin tournament. Two swimming and diving school records also fell on Friday.

And let's not forget the biggest game of the weekend. Purdue (4-7) has to travel to Gloomington today in order to retain the Old Oaken Bucket, in the annual matchup with in-state rival Indiana. (side note: it is Joe McConnell's last game calling the Boilermakers on the radio. Mute the awful commentators on your TV and tune into 95.3 to hear the voice of Purdue for the final time)

Purdue has an opportunity to have a 3,000 yard passer, a 1,000 yard receiver, and a 1,000 yard rusher this season for the first time in school history. The feat has only been accomplished 39 times by ANY school, EVER. Junior wide receiver Keith Smith has already done his part with 10,15 yards going into Saturday's game. Senior quarterback Joey Elliot needs just 179 yards through the air, and sophomore running back Ralph Bolden needs just 69 on the ground. Purdue hasn’t passed for less than 200 yards against Indiana since 1999. Even better for Elliott, he is coming off back-to-back 300-plus yard games, setting career-highs in each of the last two games. Indiana appears to be the perfect opponent for the task to be completed Saturday, as the Hoosiers bring one of the Big Ten’s worst defenses to Memorial Stadium. Indiana has the No. 10 defensive in the Big Ten, allowing 430 yards per game. The Hoosiers allow nearly 190 rushing yards and 240 passing yards a game. Bolden has rushed for at least 69 yards five times this season, though he’s needed at least 20 carries in four of those games.

Add all of this with at least three local high schools advancing to football semi-state this weekend, and my services were called upon to help out at the J+C. I covered the women's basketball game last night and will be there again tonight. So please, no spoiler phone calls or text messages on the Bucket game. I won't be able to watch until it's over. I hate knowing the result before I see the game.

Here is story #1 of the weekend. Stay tuned for more.

Purdue women make most of short bench in victory

Coach Sharon Versyp had eight available players Friday night, and every one of them contributed on the scoreboard in Purdue's 69-38 women's basketball rout of Seattle in Mackey Arena.

"I felt like we were in mud there for a little bit, and with our short bench it's very difficult to rotate players in." Versyp said. "If everybody can score then it takes the pressure off some of the other players that have to score for us game in and game out."

Not only did every able body contribute at least two points, they all grabbed at least one rebound as well. Seven of the eight pulled down an offensive board. Sophomore guard Brittany Rayburn led the charge with her second consecutive career-high scoring effort. She had 26 points, 15 of them coming from 3-point range.

"Tonight my shot was falling," Rayburn said. "I told the coaches I'm not going to have a shooting slump anymore, so I came into practice, got extra shots up and they were falling tonight."

With its currently sparse bench, scoring balance, hustle on the glass and on defense will be crucial for Purdue's immediate success.

The Boilermakers led from start to finish in the first game of the Basketball Travelers Classic. But it wasn't all as pretty as the final score suggests.

With just under nine minutes to play in the first half, Purdue (2-0) held only a 17-16 advantage over the Redhawks (0-3). Senior guard FahKara Malone got to the foul line on consecutive possessions to spark what would turn into a 34-6 Boilermaker run across the game's next 15 minutes.

Rayburn -- who complimented her scoring with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals -- scored 16 in this stretch, including four 3s. Senior guard Jodi Howell chipped in a 3 as well to further bust Seattle's zone defense.

"We were in the mud and we knew we had to get out of it as soon as possible," Rayburn said. "FahKara and Jodi were like, 'We've got to get something started.' We picked up the defense, and our defense turned into offense. That's what we need to do to get stuff going."

Versyp said she would have played zone if she were coaching Seattle.

"I would play zone in a heartbeat," she said. "It slows us down, and if we don't have specific players in we're not very good."

Sophomore center Chelsea Jones and freshman forward Ashley Wilson each scored career highs, chipping in 12 and six respectively. Jones had seven rebounds, while freshman forward Sam Ostarello pulled down nine, despite spending her time on the bench with her head in a trash can.

"Sam O has had the flu and is exceptionally sick, so at least she battled and she fought through the night," Versyp said.

In the second of the three-day round robin tournament, Purdue will play Dayton today at 5 p.m. The Boilermakers will welcome the return of Sam Woods following her NCAA-mandated two-game suspension. Seattle and Georgetown will follow at 7 p.m.

Stocking Stuffers

Buenos dias,

The holiday season is approaching, and I'm sure everyone is looking forward to it. I know I am, because that means classes are nearing their end:) However, that also means I only have one year left of my college career, and I'm certainly NOT excited about that. Anyway, here are a couple of my articles I have written with Marketing and Media. The first three were published in Purdue Today; the last in Inside Purdue. Print them out, and they make great stocking stuffers!

Community Assistance Program - http://news.uns.purdue.edu/insidepurdue/2009/091116_Tenorio-CAP.html

West Lafayette HS soccer coaches - http://news.uns.purdue.edu/insidepurdue/2009/091001_SoccerCoaches.html

Healthier vending machine options - http://www.purdue.edu/uns/insidepurdue/2009/090923_VendingMachines.html

Ismail Center director (use the following link, click on October 22 edition, download pdf file, story is at the top of page six; entitled new director striving to...) - http://news.uns.purdue.edu/insidepurdue/2008/08-09_IP-pdf-archive1.html

Ring of Honor

Hey folks,

I know I'm slacking. I promised a story each day this week, and I am a couple behind. So, here is the next slew of them. This assortment includes everything from the UFC to swimming to my most successful piece in terms of circulation. The Mackey makeover story was picked up by the Indy Star and the online version of Gold and Black Illustrated as well as the Journal and Courier. It is by far and away the most investigative story I have ever done, and is easily the longest as well. I spent a solid two weeks just gathering information. Then I had to write the story and send it through edits. It turned out so large that it had to be broken into two separate stories. The second one directly follows it on this page. I'll be in Madison this weekend for the Purdue game and Halloween, so I'll try and have some more for you next week. Enjoy!

Rusty

Fight hasn't gone out of ex-Boilermaker
By RUSTY BARNES
rubarnes@jconline.com

Jon Fitch has had quite a journey.

After earning his bachelor's degree in physical education and completing a year of graduate school in 2003, the former Purdue wrestler arrived in San Jose, Calif., with $3,000 and one thing on his mind.

Mixed martial arts.

Unable to afford a bed, Fitch spent the first month at his new home in a sleeping bag.

"If I ran out of money then I had to move home and get a job," Fitch said. "It's a huge transition from where I was and what I had. It was just something I had to do in order to do what I love, which is to train and fight."

Six years later, Fitch has gone from a mediocre college wrestler to one of the top welterweights in the world.

He was featured in the main event of UFC 87, where he was given a title shot against Georges St-Pierre. This would prove to be Fitch's only loss in 11 UFC matches. He holds a 23-3 overall record with one no contest.

Through all the troubles and all the success, Fitch still finds time to give back. He holds seminars like the one Friday at Rhyno's Gym in downtown Lafayette. The two-hour program was free to gym members. It focused on different aspects of mixed martial arts that Fitch has learned throughout his career.

As the seminar concluded, Fitch was bombarded with requests for autographs and pictures. Unaware that the session came with free autographs, one young man raced to his car and found the first thing he could for Fitch to sign: a tennis ball.

"It comes with the territory," he laughed.

While this isn't Fitch's first seminar in Lafayette, nor will it be his last, it comes weeks after mixed martial arts was sanctioned in Indiana on July 1. Fitch, who trains with the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, has kept his Indiana connections open.

Fitch is a long-time friend of Mo Amin, the owner of Rhyno's Gym. The two hope that by holding these events, awareness of mixed martial arts will increase to the point that a UFC event can be held in Fitch's home state.

"He actually helped me get more credibility with this gym," Amin said of Fitch. "A lot of my technique comes from him and his gym."

Fitch's seminar brought in about half of the approximately 30-40 members of Rhyno's Gym. However, Amin said his members seemed star struck.

"It makes me feel like I'm giving them an opportunity to come and train with somebody at this level," Amin said.

One in attendance was another former Purdue wrestler, Ben Wissel, who teaches wrestling classes at the gym and has known Fitch since his college wrestling days.

"There's a big gap there between everything he knows now and back then when he was just getting started," Wissel said. "It's been pretty cool."

Mackey makeover
$100 million extends arena's life
By RUSTY BARNES
rubarnes@jconline.com

The largest facelift in Purdue athletic history began as a civil engineering class exercise.

Realizing a new basketball arena could be at least a $300 million project, athletic director Morgan Burke wondered how much it would cost to renovate Mackey Arena, which opened in 1967. So he met with civil engineering professor Bob Jacko in the fall of 2001 to see if it was possible for his students' capstone course to be Mackey Arena.

"(Mackey) was the item back in the early part of this decade ... about 2003 or 2004 ... that President Jischke and I said if we wait until 2025 we're not sure we'll ever be able to swallow the elephant," Burke said.

During the next four years, Jacko's students investigated Mackey Arena and other sporting arenas. At the end of each semester, Burke was provided with a detailed report of possibilities.

"I think they created the impetus that, hey it could be done," Burke said.

Burke then presented HNTB Architecture with a summary of the students' reports. Some modifications were made and all that was left was approval from the Board of Trustees, which was granted in 2007.

The overall cost has increased from the original estimate of $82.5 million to $100 million but construction is underway and on schedule despite some weather setbacks, according to Burke. The target date for the first game in renovated Mackey Arena is Nov. 11, 2011.

Sophomore guard Brittany Rayburn said women's coach Sharon Versyp used the Mackey Project as a sales pitch when recruiting the 2008 Miss Basketball from Attica. She had been coming to games in Mackey Arena for years and liked its basketball-only quality.

"When I went other places I'd look at the gym and see if they have a hollow floor," she said. "One thing I like about Mackey is we have a floor that doesn't move. I hate when you go into places and you have the portable floors and they've got dead spots all over them. It's not a huge factor, but it is definitely something you look at."

Before the Mackey Project could get underway, some preliminary measures had to be taken, starting with the relocation of the Grand Prix track.

Today, motorists along Northwestern Avenue can see multiple projects in progress. Two full-sized, lighted football practice fields will be inserted north of the Mollenkopf Athletic Center. The one closest to University Drive will be made of Bermuda grass while the field closest to Northwestern will have field turf. The targeted date for completion is Aug. 1.

The new student entryway, located in the southwest part of the athletic campus, will be completed by the first basketball game in November. By the middle of July, passersby will begin to see more excavation equipment working on office buildings in the lot.

Burke said that everything being worked on now should be complete by the basketball season. Then, work in the F Lot will begin, which won't affect anything inside the arena.

"We're taking a big house and renovating it while we're living there," Burke said. "That's going to be a challenge for people."

Assistant athletic director Steve Simmerman, who is in charge of facilities, said he never thought a project like this would happen.

"I've been at the university just over 25 years and worked in athletics all that time," Simmerman said. "I never thought I would see the expansion done to the football stadium, and to follow that up with Mackey and the facilities adjacent to that is beyond imaginable."

Despite the slumping economy, $26 million has been collected from private funding toward the original $32 million goal. Other funding will come from concession sales and premium seating.

The number of seats and the date they will be put on the marketplace are not finalized. But there are expected to be around 670 premium seats, 600 club seats and 70 courtside seats.

"You will have to be a John Purdue Club member to purchase club seating," said Kathy Amato, director of premium seating for the John Purdue Club. "We will have contracts for those seats."

One of the major criticisms of the Mackey Project was whether or not it could be done without compromising the arena's tradition. However, Burke and the athletic department have plans to preserve it.

"The Ring of Honor, which is what we're going to call the concourse, will tell the history of Purdue
basketball," Burke said. "It will be stunning. The idea is that concourse will tell that history, and I think it will tell it ... in a very tasteful way. It's meant to be a retro kind of deal where you walk back in time as you come into the arena."

Inadequate facilities limit Boilermakers
By RUSTY BARNES
rubarnes@jconline.com

Athletic and academic success by Purdue student-athletes played a role in the decision to improve the school's athletic facilities.

Athletic director Morgan Burke hopes his master plan, which includes the current Mackey Arena Project, will enhance recruiting and help Purdue rise in the annual Directors' Cup standings.

The Boilermakers were ranked 38th out of 278 Division I schools in the final Directors' Cup standings released Monday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

The Boilermakers had finished 35th in each of the previous three years.

"We were about 80 points from the top 30, which essentially is having two more teams participate in postseason play so there is still work to be done," Burke said.

The Elite Eight berth by the women's basketball team led 11 Boilermaker teams with NCAA postseason appearances. The 2008-09 school year saw Purdue athletes claim two individual national championships, earn 20 All-America citations, 19 first-team All-Big Ten selections and 150 Academic All-Big Ten honorees.

The spring was also the first in 24 semesters during which the cumulative grade-point average for all 500 athletes was above 3.0.

"Back in the mid-90's, and we were 81st in the Directors Cup, it was like NASCAR and we were a lap down," Burke said. "If somebody went into the pits then you were going to catch them.
"Now we're on the lead lap. Now you've got to get by somebody, and that's not easy."

Racing analogies aside, Burke said that for Purdue athletes to exceed current levels of performance, "obvious deficiencies in the facilities had to be eradicated."

"We're getting top talent who can compete here athletically and academically on campus," he said. "Our yield rate on getting those kids to come is not where it needs to be."

If the Recreational Sports Center finally gets its long-discussed upgrade, baseball will probably be forced to move from Lambert Field, Burke said. Plans are in place to move baseball to the northwest site currently housing the Schwartz Tennis Center, the cross country course and the Grand Prix track.

Plans are also in place for lights at the soccer field and restrooms for softball.

Pending the success of Danny Hope's football team, and a demand for premium seating, a new deck to the east side of Ross-Ade -- creating a more balanced look -- could be in the foreseeable future.

Volleyball coach Dave Shondell agrees the Mackey Arena Project will help him and other sports in recruiting but that ultimately, state of the art facilities are not the primary factor when athletes choose a school.

"What really helps recruiting is winning matches and putting people in the stands," Shondell said. "You still sell your program on the people. Purdue is very well known for the type of culture that is here: friendly people, kind people, loyal Purdue fans.

"I still think that our hitch at Purdue is not going to be on material things. That's just the gravy on top of the mashed potatoes."

Connolly seeks World Championships berth
By RUSTY BARNES
rubarnes@jconline.com

A familiar face has been swimming the lanes of the Boilermaker Aquatic Center.

Former Harrison standout Jenny Connolly returned to Lafayette in early May to prepare for the next step in her already successful swimming career. The five-time Indiana state champion trained for the U.S. national championships under the supervision of Purdue men's coach Dan Ross.

The trials will be held at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis today through Saturday. Qualifying athletes (first and second place finishers) will then be eligible for the World Championships in Rome which begin on July 17. Connolly will be competing in the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke.

"I have a couple of goals, Connolly said. "I really want to make the team, obviously. I'm expecting a best time. I'm hoping that my yards time will transfer to the meters time. I think if I can drop just two seconds, which I did at Tennessee in yards, I think I can make the team."

Connolly's freshman season at Tennessee validated her decision to leave Lafayette in search for the highest level of competition. She earned five All-America citations and was selected to the SEC's All-Freshman team.

"I was ready for change, for a different scenery, for a different area," she said. "I love Lafayette and West Lafayette so much. It's been amazing, but I was just ready to move on to something different."

Connolly set Tennessee school records in the 100-yard backstroke and the 200 backstroke and was a member of two relay teams (200 medley, 400 medley) that also set school records.

But like most freshmen, Connolly was ready to come home at the end of the year.

"I didn't hesitate on coming home because I knew that I have a really good program here," she said. "I have a great coach here. Dan is amazing, and it's a great team to train with here. I knew I wouldn't be lacking on the training at all. So it was a win-win situation for me."

Connolly admits her training hasn't been easy and she has had to adjust to some new techniques.

"We wanted to get her as fit as possible," Ross said. "We did a lot of really hard stuff out of the water, weights and dry land. We tried to use a lot of the stuff she used at Tennessee so it wasn't totally new, but there still was a lot of new stuff she had to do. Basically, beat her up."

Dive Right In

Purdue divers seek World gold

By RUSTY BARNES
rubarnes@jconline.com

Three Purdue divers are looking forward to soaking up the miniature Olympic experience.

Senior Ashley Karnes and juniors Kara Cook and David Colturi will travel to Belgrade, Serbia, today for the World University Games. The three will stay in a college-centered community and will get the opportunity to watch other top-caliber athletes in their respective sports.

"It's really cool because we're living in a village just like in the Olympics and we get tickets to all of the other sports," Cook said.

In particular, the trio is looking forward to watching fellow Boilermaker Robbie Hummel compete with the USA basketball team. Karnes said sharing this opportunity with other Boilermakers is an added perk.

"It makes the experience that much better," Karnes said. "I want to go see gymnastics. I used to do gymnastics, and I love watching it. There's not really an opportunity around here to go see it."

For Karnes, this opportunity is a bit of a surprise. She was the alternate in her event before a Team USA member dropped out.

"I just found out a couple weeks ago," said Karnes, who will compete in the 1-meter. "I've just been working on the 1-meter, so hopefully I can go and perform the way I've been training."

Cook will compete in the platform and synchronized platform with her partner, Audra Egenolf of Southern Methodist. Colturi will compete in the 1-meter and will team up with Sean Moore of Ohio State in the synchronized platform.

Each agreed the goal is to polish their respective dives before the Purdue collegiate season, but experiencing the culture is just as important.

"I just want to have a great time and enjoy it, because you can only do this once when you're in college," Cook said.

Colturi agreed.

"I'm really just looking to soak it all in," he said. "I've talked to people who have done it before, but I've never done it myself. I've heard nothing but good things."

Colturi, who commutes to Columbus, Ohio., to train with Moore, said he thinks the duo has a good chance to medal.

"He won NCAAs as a freshman on tower," Colturi said. "We're really just looking to put some good dives down and see where it puts us."

The week-long event beginning Saturday will feature international competition, which Purdue diving coach Adam Soldati said is a tier higher than the NCAA.

"Whenever you can go international ... it's going to be tougher competition than the NCAAs," he said. "What I told them is No. 1: soak up the experience of being at an international meet against some of the best divers in the world and soak up the experience of being at this event."

Batter Up!

I pulled a couple of my stories from the J&C archives while I was in the office Friday. I'll try and post one each day this week. This is the first article I ever wrote for the J&C. It is another of my favorites, and it seems to be a favorite for everybody else too. Enjoy.

Daughter trumps dad in CC win

By RUSTY BARNES
For the Journal & Courier

Benton Central softball coach Dave Mecklenburg fought back tears, but it wasn't because his team lost.

Central Catholic defeated the Bison 2-1 Wednesday night when Lauren Hruskovich doubled home two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Those runs rallied the Class A Knights past the Class 3A Bison, who had led 1-0 since the first. However, the late runs were not what established Mecklenburg's mood after the game.

Wednesday was Senior Night at CC, and lining up across from Mecklenburg was his ready-to-graduate daughter, Megan, who is legally blind.

Coaching against his daughter on CC's Senior Night was difficult, to say the least.

"She's 18 years old, and she's battled all of her life," Dave Mecklenburg said as emotion forced a pause. "For her to be able to play at all is special."

Megan finished the game 1-for-3 with a single in the bottom of the sixth. And with the added pressure of her father coaching against her, Megan remained poised.

"There wasn't really any pressure," she said. "It was like any other game. I just went in there and played like I did as usual."

Megan almost got the opportunity to drive in the winning run.

With the Knights trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, she stood in the on-deck circle with two outs and runners on first and second.

But Hruskovich blooped a flyball into shallow centerfield to drive in both baserunners and relieve some of the pressure on her teammate, who went on to single.

Father and daughter claimed they didn't place any bets before the game, and neither would succumb to trash-talking.

But while coach Mecklenburg was disappointed with the loss, his desire to win shouldn't be questioned.

"It's like I told the girls before the game," he said. "It's like playing Ping-Pong. If you think I'm going to go downstairs and play a game of Ping-Pong with her, and not want to kick her butt, you're nuts."

Lap One

Hello all,

I'm told some of you had some questions on leaving comments. I have set this blog up so anyone can leave a comment, even if you do not hold a Blogspot or Google account. All you have to do is click on the blue comment link at the end of one of my posts to leave a comment. You will be taken to a new page with a white box. This is where you type what you want to say. Now, there will also be a small drop-down box. Click on it and select anonymous (this is the only option that will work if you do not have a Google or Blogspot account). Even though you must select anonymous in order to post, you can still include your name in the white message box. Please do that. Once you have typed what you want to say, including your name, select 'post comment.' At this point a notification will be sent to me for publishing approval. Once I have read it I will make it visible on the actual blog. I know this sounds like a lot of loop holes, but I have done this as precautionary security measures. This way I can moderate who posts what on my site. It should help keep random web surfers to a minimum.

I am still working on compiling all of my articles for publishing on this site. I appreciate your patience. Please, continue to visit, and I will have my articles up ASAP. In the meantime, if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Here is a sample of one of my earlier pieces as a staff reporter at The Exponent. It remains one of my personal favorites. I hope you enjoy reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Role brings former player closer to coach

By Rusty Barnes

Staff Reporter

Publication Date: 11/21/08

Coach Joe Tiller warms up for every football game with a race against a cowboy.

That cowboy is Andy Standifer, a former player under Tiller. But Standifer is not an ordinary cowboy, and he certainly doesn’t dress like one.

Standifer can be seen at every football game wearing a dark blue uniform with a badge, a radio and a holstered gun. He is a member of the Purdue University Police Department and has been Tiller’s bodyguard for the past four years.

“He’s one of my favorite people in the world, and I don’t know if anybody has noticed, but he and Joe have been having races onto the field this season,” said Arnette, Tiller’s wife. “I’m getting great stories about why Joe wins every week. Joe says he wins, but (Joe) kind of runs sideways to push Andy off into the pack.

“Andy’s like, ‘I can’t run with all of my gear on.’ It’s just been a standing joke all season.”

Standifer, a Purdue alumnus, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in law and society. He was a long snapper for the football team from 1996-99. He returned home after graduation and spent three years at his local police department before returning to his alma mater. He recently became head of the K-9 department with the PUPD.

Standifer said he and the entire Tiller family have become friends over the years. Arnette recalled Standifer coming out to Wyoming for a visit.

“He’s come out to Wyoming twice,” Arnette said. “We took him to Frontier Day in Cheyenne, and did the rodeo and the night show. He’s a cowboy. He rides rodeo and actually rides horses and stuff in Indiana. I think he’s finding that he’s a displaced person. Out in Wyoming is where he was supposed to live.”

Standifer said that his relationship with Tiller has developed over the years from just being a player and coach to something more meaningful.

“We’ve become friends over the years,” Standifer said. “I look up to him. He’s a great figure as far as Purdue, and also outside as somebody that you can look up to.”

Before and after games Standifer is very easy to spot when he is providing Tiller with protection to and from the field. Standifer doesn’t see it as anything special, though.

“I just do my job,” he said. “And this is just part of it.”

Opening Day

Hello everyone,

I hope everybody is doing well, whether you be family, friend, or some misguided web surfer. I have created this blog - which I have decided to call The Bandwagon - for your benefit. I've been informed that many of you have been reading the articles I have had published over the past year. Some of you have even been generous enough to e-mail me and provide me with feedback. But I will admit, even considering the number of hours I spend in front of my computer, it is a daunting task for me to send out e-mails with links with my writing to everyone. Thus, my blogging experiment is born. I have never used one myself, but I hope this can serve as a universal platform for you all to come and find my latest articles. Feel free to leave me feedback, positive or negative, or you can simply stop by to let me know how you are doing. I will do my best to update this site with my latest pieces as long as the interest level remains high.

For those of you who I haven't had a chance to speak with recently, allow me to update you with what has been going on with me. I just began my senior year at Purdue, and it has been quite a ride. I graduated from Clinton Central in 2006 and enrolled in the athletic training program. However, it should be noted that I really had no clue what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing. So, I spent a semester in AT before deciding it wasn't for me. I tried my luck in biology, pre-medicine and pre-law over the course of the next year before I found sociology. While in soc I was considering careers as a social worker, work in human resources, and a college professor. In the fall of 2008 I joined the sports desk staff at The Exponent, Purdue's independent daily student newspaper. It is free to people on campus and is completely driven by advertising revenue, while reaching about 17,000 people per day. At this point in my college career, I was still a sociology major. But my exposure to journalism encouraged me to further pursue a career in that field, and that is how I landed where I am today. I still have my sociology major, but I have added on a second degree - communication. So, if you go back and do the math, I have been through six different majors. I'm told the average student switches majors seven times. But as someone who has experienced this, I find that hard to believe.

The last four years have been quite the thrill. I'm often asked what I would change if I could go back and do college all over again, and my answer is always the same - nothing. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that you should live your life without regrets. Everything will fall into place in due time, so there is no need to waste your life worrying. My college adventure, while not easy, has provided me with more individual learning experiences than some people find in a lifetime. I'm quickly finding this is something that has allowed me to stand out in job interviews as well.

I worked as a staff reporter at The Exponent for a semester and got to meet some cool people, watch a lot of games, at court-side or in the press boxes, and travel to some cool places. I got to spend Thanksgiving in downtown Manhattan (on The Exponent's dollar), while covering the men's basketball NIT Tournament at Madison Square Garden. After only four months as a staff reporter I became sports editor. I served as the sports desk's head for the next three months before deciding to step down. I applied for an unpaid internship with sports at the Lafayette Journal and Courier about a month later, and that is what I spent this past summer doing. The J&C reaches in between 33,223 and 39,343 people, depending on the day. There, the majority of my assignments were high school athletics. However, I did tackle a heavy research story on the Mackey Renovation Project (which if you don't know anything about it, I would highly recommend checking it out; it's pretty cool). That article was picked up by the Indianapolis Star, which has a daily circulation of 255,303 (except Sunday which has a circulation of 324,329). Gold and Black Illustrated provided a web-link to that same story. However, I am not certain if it was printed, nor am I sure of GBI's circulation.

After I completed my internship with the J&C, I returned to Purdue for my senior year. I was then made aware of another intriguing job opening. Purdue Publications, in the Office of Marketing and Media, was offering a paid student internship. As much as I loved my time in sports, I was becoming bored with its monotonous style and more importantly, I missed being a fan at the games. My favorite sports assignments were the off-beat, feature type pieces. While I wouldn't be in sports anymore, Purdue Publications would allow me to write more feature articles. I was hired, and that is where I am today. Purdue Publications includes three different things: Purdue Today, Inside Purdue, and Perspective. PT is a daily faculty and staff e-newsletter. IP is pretty much the same thing except in print form. I don't actually know for sure, but I think IP only publishes around seven issues per year. And Perspective, I know the least about because I do the least amount of work with it. It's much more of a magazine format. I write a lot of briefs, do some re-writes and edits, and I get to tackle the occasional story. Actually, I just found out today that the Purdue Engineering Impact magazine (circulation around 70,000) is picking up one of my recent stories.

So, that is what has been going on with me. I'm not entirely sure what kind of job I am looking for when I graduate. I've had a chance to experience pretty much every aspect of print publications. The Exponent is a student run newspaper that covers Purdue. The J&C is a professionally run paper that covers Purdue, and my internship with PU Publications means I am actually employed by the University itself. My internship with PU Publications will last the remainder of the 2009-10 academic year. I am still freelancing with the Journal and Courier on weekends, and I still get phone calls from friends at The Exponent, for I guess you could call it consulting work. I'm set to graduate next Christmas. Yes, even despite all of the switches in majors. So, as you can tell I try and view Purdue as an amusement park (to continue with my ride metaphor). I'm simply trying to ride as many of the rides as I can. Because before I know it, my own Boilermaker amusement park will be closing its doors on me for good. My only hope is that it will open some new ones for me in the future.

I promise that my future posts will be much shorter. I know this has been a marathon of a read, and I applaud those of you who made it to the finish line. So without further a due, I hereby open my Boilermaker amusement park to all of you.

All Aboard The Bandwagon!