Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 19 March 2004 — Page 30

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D SECTION FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 2004

Mini-Marathon to be staged for troops in Bosnia Indiana National Guard 38th Infantry Division to compete in satellite halfmarathon Spacjal to Tho Rtcordor While the field for the 28th running of the Indianapolis Life 500 Festival Mini-Marathon reached its 30,000 entry limit, the 500 Festival recently announced that additional athletes will be joining the field. They won’t be picking up race packets at the Health & Fitness Expo, starting in corrals on Washington Street or celebrating at the finish line on New York Street. Instead, they will be starting the 13.1-mile race in fields of Bosnia and celebrating with meals-ready-to-eat (known to the soldiers as MREs) instead of a post-race party in downtown Indianapolis. A special satellite version of the marathon, designed for troops who wanted to participate but couldn’t due to their tour of duty in Bosnia, will take place Saturday, May 8. Indianapolis’ Indiana National Guard 38th Infantry Division either have been deployed or are scheduled for deployment to Bosniaand Herzegovina, along with additional troops from other forces that make up the Stabilization Force (SFOR), leaving many soldiers unable to participate in the marathon. Their idea was to stage a half-marathon at Eagle Base in Bosnia and have their results posted to the Mini’s official results roster. “The race serves as a symbolic piece ofhome while they are away from friends and family members,” Howard Shearon, chairman, 500 Festival Board of Directors and former member of the Indiana National Guard 38th Infantry Division (1961-1967). “We’re a community festival and although our‘community’ is away fighting for our freedom, we want to give them a piece pf home during this trying time.” To date, 48 entries have been filed from Bosnia and will be registered as official entries in the marathon. The 500 Festival expects nearly 80 to enter. Registration for the troops was complimentary thanks to support from Mini-Marathon sponsors including Indianapolis Life Insurance Co., St. Francis Hospitals, Finish Line, Marsh Supermarkets, Gatorade, WISH-TV, WFMS 95.5 FM, Main Gate and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “The opportunity to allow the 38th Infantry Division’s soldiers to participate in the Indianapolis Life Festival Mini-Marathon from their duty station in Bosnia ► See BOSNIA, Page D6

Wisconsin outplays Illinois for first Big Ten Tournament win

By JOSHUA COHEN

StaH Writer

The Wisconsin Badgers eventually came out on top, beating the Illinois Fighting Illini soundly

TheBigTenConferenceTour- 70-53 for their first BigTen Tournament was back in Indianapo- nament championship, lis this year after the co-hosts in Illinois got outworked from the Chicago temporarily claimed the beginning and were never able to honors in 2003. catch up. In the first half, WisFromMarch 11-14,11 BigTen consin had eight offensive reteams battled for bragging rights bounds to Illinois’ nine defensive and an automatic bid in the ones. Badger forward Mike NCAA Tournament. Wilkinson completely dominated,

Wisconsin guard Clayton Hanson (left) contests Illinois guard Luther Head's layup In the Big Ten title game. Hanson’s play epitomized the Badger's tough inside presence that made the big difference for Wisconsin's 70-53 win.

Wisconsin guard Devin Harris, Big Ten player of the year, drives by Head for two of his 29 points. Harris was also named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament with 71 total points. (Photos/W. Thomas)

intimidating the Illinois players in the post and out-hustling their entire team. Guard Devin Harris finished with 29 points, 20 in the second half, making sure Illinois didn’t have a chance to make a comeback. Indiana and Purdue were in action the first day trying to keep Indiana schools’ tournament hopes alive. Purdue couldn’t quite pull it together and lost to Minnesota 63-52, but Indiana dominated Ohio State to move on to the next round. The Hoosiers just couldn’t get it done against No. 1 ranked Illinois and despite a second half comeback where I ndiana tied the game, Illinois guard Deron Williams proved too much for them, scoring clutch baskets to put the Illini out of reach. “The lanes were wide open,” Williams said in a press conference after the game. “I found the gaps in their defense and exploited them.” A.J. Moye and his team were a little less happy after the game. Moye appeared at the press conference with swollen, red eyes after a hard loss in his last game as a Hoosier. “I don’t think every guy realizes they’re playing at Indiana,” Moye said about his teammate’s work ethics. “You need to wear that jersey with pride.” Moye implied his teammates did not buy into Davis’ system and didn’t work hard during the season, resulting in a 14-15 record. “If everyone gave 100 percent and we were 14-15,1 wouldn’t be upset,” said Moye. “But they didn’t.” Davis used the season as a learning experience for his future coaching strategies. He felt he stayed with certain players too long who didn’t get better at the end of the season as expected. “Being a young coach you want to go with the young horses you recruit,” said Davis. “That’s unfair. In any walk of life the job should go to the person who works harder. I was too patient with players this year.” Next season, Davis has a new crop of “horses.” Ill’s recruiting class is ranked first in the nation, but the coach says it doesn’t mean a thing without leadership. “The problem is who do they look up to when they come in,” Davis seemingly questioned his players who would be returning next year. They are young and it will take them a while. They’re No. 1 in the country but they need a leader or it won’t mean a thing.” The Big Ten Tournament finished with a total of 77,000 attendees, including 14,000 at the championship game. Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State were the only Big Ten teams to make it into the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

Pacers hand Boston another loss but fall to Cleveland

By ERICKA P. THOMPSON Staff Wrltar It’s fun watching the Pacers play knowing they are safely secured in a playoff seat. As one fan recently stated, “The Pacers haven’t played this good as a team since they had Reggie (Miller), Rik Smits, Antonio and Dale (Davis), Jalen Rose and Mark Jackson and took the Bulls to seven games in the Eastern Conference finals in 1998. I didn’t have season tickets this year, but I have my money ready for next year.” Before fans get their dollars out for next season there are still 15 games to be played before the playoffs begin including the rematch against the Knicks at Conseco on April 6. The Pacers recently traveled to Massachusetts to battle the Celtics at the Fleet Center. Boston has slipped out of the playoff race just one

game behind the Toronto Raptors and badly needed a win against the top team in the East. Unfortunately shooting 40 percent from the field against a team with remarkable depth isn’t going to get the job done. “When we play a team like the leakers or like the Pacers, with a team that we have, we need to go out and play the perfect game,” said Paul Pierce. “We can’t have mental lapses, we have no room for error. We’re not quite at that level with those teams.” JermaineO’Neal agreed sitting out the fourth quarter while the Pacers enjoyed a 72-53 lead. O’Neal scored just 8 points hitting only three of 11 shots but added four blocks and a surprising five rebounds, but he only stayed on the court 28 minutes. “This team is so deep it takes a lot of pressure off us,” he said. “I Jermaine O'Neal and the Pacers are battling Brad Miller and the ► See INDIANA, Page D6 Kings for position.(Photo /R. Widner)

GAME POINTS

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Ericka 3, Josh 0

By ERICKA P. THOMPSON StaH Writer Melo and King James have given the NBA a lot more than two cool nicknames. Together they’ve energized the league, made the NBA a lot of money, began a rivalry and helped two teams that sucked so bad Cleveland and Denver fans should have voted the teams be extradited from the state. They even got their teams new logos and new uniforms; Kobe, ICG. and Tracy did not do that. Of course the big question is who should be crowned Rookie of the Year? Dwyane Wade has also helped the Miami Heat push their way into the playoffs and look at the Milwaukee Bucks, before the injury T.J. Ford was giving Melo and King James a serious run for the title. But we all know who the two big dogs are. We all know that Carmelo and LeBron will be neck to neck, shoulder to shoulder and head to head in the rookie race. I don’t have to list their stats to prove how similar they are; you have probably heard it on ESPN all season long. Who do I think should win? I’m glad you asked. I would give the crown to Melo, hands down. What Carmelo has done for the Denver Nuggets still amazes me. He has helped a team who ended last season 17-65 play so well this season that they are currently the eighth seed in the West Conference. In a conference with dominating teams like the Lakers, Kings, Mavs, TWolves and Spurs, the Nuggets have played solid basketball all season. I know, I know. The Cavs are the sixth seed in the East and have the possibility to go the playoffs too. But who is in the East? Indiana, New Jersey and Detroit, that leaves five playoff spots for teams that are not that good. Carmelo has kept the Nuggets over .500 all season; I can’t say the same for King James. It is more difficult to win a playoff spot in the West than in the East and the Nuggets have a spot. I could build a team with the best high school players in Indiana this year and make the playoffs in the East. The experts say the Rookie of the Year award will go to the player whose team finishes the season the strongest. I agree and looking at the schedule, I think the feat will go to Denver. Also, Denver didn’t have to bring in a new coach and a handful of new players for Melo, he worked with what he had. If the NBA committee punks out on a decision like the NFL and gives out CoRookie of the Year trophies I will no longer be a fan of the NBA I can’t forget to mention that I’m undefeated in predictions. The Colts made it to the AFC Championship game, the West won the NBA All-Star game and Wisconsin easily won the Big Ten Tournament. I think Josh needs to pat me on the back.

By JOSHUA COHEN Staff Wrltar Despite the lackluster year the NBA is having, there’s a bright spot. Well, two bright spots to be exact. Carmelo Anthony and LeBron “King” James are two of the best rookies to enter the league in recent years and certainly the best two this season by far. Not to take anything away from Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh or T.J. Ford but Melo and the King are good. I mean real good. But who’s better? If the season stopped today, with both teams in the playoffs, who would receive the Rookie of the Year honors? Well let’s break down the facts first. James is leading in points per game, by a measly 0.4 points. Anthony is averaging 6.1 reboqnds and James 5.7. James does have somewhat of an advantage in the assists column, 5.6 to 2.9, but he played point guard for most of the season. Their field goal percentage is even near identical, 41 percent for James and 42 percent for Anthony. They’re even physically similar, both are 6 foot 8 inches tall and James has a 10-pound advantage. And now that Cleveland coach Paul Silas finally figured out LeBron shouldn’t be the Cav’s point guard, they both play the same position. OK, so the numbers don’t set them apart. Well what about their team impacts? Well both teams are coming off a 17-65 season. Cleveland got a new coach, a couple of new role players and is now seeded sixth in the Eastern Conference. Denver kept their coach but picked up Andre Miller, Earl Boykins and has a healthy Marcus Camby to help Melo out and are sitting at a precarious eighth in a ridiculously hard Western Conference. Denver has a winning record so far, but has slid considerably after the All-Star break. Cleveland has not quite broken the .500 mark, but since the break they have been the hottest team in the NBA winning 10 of their last 12. During these games, Anthony has been the high scorer on the team almost every game. James, on the other hand, has had good games when Cleveland won and not as good when they lost. This implies the King has more of an impact on whether his team wins than Anthony. Common belief states that if one team makes the playoffs and the other doesn’t, that will dictate the Rookie of the Year. However, common belief also states it’s not how you start, it’s howyou finish, and LeBron has been on fire down the stretch. I think King James deserves the honors this year, although to tell you the truth my prediction is the NBA will wimp out and give it to them both.