Hammer and Rails

Royal Rumble: Who Wins A Battle Between Big Ten Mascots?

2012-05-17T15:34:47Z

It's been awhile since I wrote something that could fall under the category of Batshit Insanity, but it's the offseason. that in and of itself leads to strange ideas, especially when given a boatload of time to write and the hindrance of writer's block.

The offseason is also the time when bloggers like me, while starved for content, start bouncing the absurd idea off the walls of our mind. One can only stare outside at a gorgeous spring day as I am trapped inside an office before the mind begins to wander. This leads to Power Rankings comparing the Big Ten to Anchorman and the vague idea of declaring blog war on Syracuse.

After that lengthy preamble, consider the rest of this entry just a few random neurons firing in my head. That's the only logical explanation for thinking, "What would happen if all 12 Big Ten mascots got in a fight to the death." Yes, The Hunger Games is the hot movie at the moment, so it may have had a hand in this, but any time you can have a hypothetical battle royale is a good one.

Before getting to out candidates, let's set some conditions:

Each mascot is the walking, anthropomorphized mascot only - I am well aware that the Boilermaker Special is Purdue's official mascot, but it also makes things unfair if the solution is "train runs over everyone, Purdue wins"
But what of Indiana and Michigan - They don't have anthropomorphic mascots, so their representative will be decided at my discretion. This, of course will put them at a hilarious disadvantage, but this is a dictatorship and I am in charge.
The battle will occurred in a Hunger Games-style arena - This is necessary, as the various boosters of each school will be able to send in parachute packages. If you don't know what I am talking about, get thee to a multiplex.
There can be only one - It's like the Highlander. There will be no declaration of carnal love between Herbie Husker and Willy Wildcat as they try to preserve their lives.

With that in mind, here are candidates:

Purdue Pete:

Advantages - Pete gets to bring the hammer in with him, as he is the only mascot that carries with him an item that can bet used as a weapon at all times.

Disadvantages - A gargantuan plastic head. Yes, all the other mascots have huge heads, but Pete's is the only one made out of plastic. If it gives way unlike soft plush, he's screwed.

Indiana:

First off, we have to decide what IU's mascot is. Rumor has it there was a buffalo at one time, but I don't see many buffalo around Indiana. When I was little, I asked my father what a Hoosier was. His response: "A hillbilly with the sense kicked out of him" Sounds good to me!

Advantages - Backwoods skills. Anything that happens in the woods stays in the woods, be it moonshine production, hunting, or the secret shrine do Cody Zeller covered by stitched-together game-worn red sweaters.

Disadvantages - It's 2012, which is no place for a hillbilly.

Sparty:

Advtanges - He's a friggin' Spartan! He has been bred for war.

Disadvantages - The dude is wearing a skirt.

Wal-Mart Wolverine:

Advantages - Michigan does not have an official mascot on the sidelines, so, like Indiana, we have to come up with one. Ironically, both would make People of Wal-Mart proud in their craftiness.

Disadvantages - Traditional Wal-Mart Wolverines aren't exactly in the best of shape Bucky Badger:

Advantages - He's a freakin' Badger, so I am thinking claws and teeth.

Disadvantages - Very few, as we know the Honey Badger doesn't give a shit.

The Lion:

Advantages - He can probably "win the crowd" more than anyone else, as his crowd warm-up before the Purdue-Penn State game last season was one of the cooler traditions I have seen in college football.

Disadvantages - How do I put this lightly... He's still not comfortable being around kids, but this is a fight to the death, so I guess it already isn't kid friendly

Brutus:

Advantages - I'm not really sure. He's just a nut.

Disadvantages - He's completely averse to winning in West Lafayette.

Goldy:

Advantages - A natural burrower that can undermine via tunnel.

Disadvantages - The head-spin thing is a little creepy.

Herby Husker:

Advantages - He's got crazy eyes!

Disadvantages - I'm not sure, as those crazy eyes scare me.

Chief Illiwinek:

Advantages - He's resourceful with many things.

Disadvantages - apparently a white kid dressing and dancing like a Native American is offensive.

Willie Wildcat:

Advantages - Like Bucky, I'll go with the claws and teeth angle.

Disadvantages - Like his basketball program, it is hard to take that face seriously.

Herky:

Advantages - He can fly, so there is nothing stopping him from flying above and waiting for the carnage to subside.

Disadvantages - The site of Pete could cause their insane bloodlust to take over and they take each other out in 5 seconds because of the OMHR factor.

So who wins? Have it out in the comments!

Indiana State recap and Iowa preview

2012-05-17T15:30:17Z

#13 Purdue vs. Indiana State

Wow, what a way to end the era that was Lambert Field. This game was a pitcher's duel from the start, and definitely lived up to the hype. Before the game, however, time was taken to honor the 15 seniors that have helped the program to a new wins record and the first B1G championship in 103 years.

Robert Ramer took the mound for the Boilermakers, and pitched a solid 5 1/3 innings of 1 run ball. Calvin Gunter and Nick Wittgren combined for 4 2/3 innings of 3 hit ball out of the bullpen. The offense, on the other hand, struggled with the bats against Indiana State freshman Kyle Rupe, who gave up just 2 hits in 6 2/3 innings.

ISU was able to score in the top of the 4th inning after an error in left field, and seemed to have control and on their way to a solid victory at Lambert Field after retiring the first two batters in the bottom of the 9th inning. But that's when it all changed.

Sophomore Sean McHugh came in to pinch hit for Senior Barrett Serrato in hopes to just get on base and make something happen. He had been hitting in the cages for the past few innings, so he came in and wasmore than ready to go. And boy did he come up big. First pitch, GONE...solo shot over the left field fence. Just like that, Purdue tied it and was back in the game.

In extras, Wittgren shut down the Sycamore's offense which would help give the Boilermakers a chance to come back and take the victory in the bottom of the 10th inning. After consecutive singles by Seniors Andrew Dixon and David Miller (how fitting) the Boilermakers loaded the bases as Junior Cameron Perkins came up to bat with one out.

He hit the ball to left field, and scored Miller on a bizarre ending as the Boilermakers came back and "stole" a victory from a very good Indiana State when it seemed there was little chance.

A fitting end to Lambert Field, and a fitting end for the Senior's at Lambert as well. Here's what Schreiber had to say after the game:

Boilermakers Say Goodbye To Lambert Field (via BoilermakerBaseball)

Box Score

Iowa Preview:

Although Purdue has clinched at least a share of the Big Ten Title, they are still looking to clinch it outright and can do so with one win in this weekend series. I honestly see no way that doesn't happen, as Iowa is currently 9th in the Big Ten with an 8-13 conference record.

The only Big Ten series they have won was against last place Northwestern when they took 2 of 3 back in late March. They rank in the bottom of the Big Ten in most categories, so look for the Boilers to pretty much cruise through the weekend.

Offensively, Mike McQuillan and Phil Keppler will do the most damage. They are the only two batters on the team currently batting over .300. McQuillan also leads the Hawkeyes with 13 stolen bases, 37 walks, 40 runs, and a .465 OBP. However, he does come in second on the team with 33 strikeouts.

Iowa does seem to have some decent pitching, but nothing that the Boilermakers can't handle or haven't seen already this year. The 3 weekend starters have a combined 3.85 era and have a few guys out of the bullpen with sub-4 ERA's.

Side notes:

Junior Catcher Kevin Plawecki was named as one of the 12 semifinalists for the Johnny Bench award, which honors the nation's top catcher. He and Florida catcher Mike Zunino are the only two to have been named semifinalists each of the past two seasons.

Senior Joe Haase was named B1G pitcher of the week this past week, making it the 2nd time this season and 3rd time in his career he has earned the honor.

I am a Junior student manager at Purdue and will be chronicling stories of Boiler baseball throughout the entire season as I travel with them. There will be game previews and recaps for each weekend, as well as some "behind the scenes" stuff.

Follow me on twitter @Banski913

100 Days until Purdue Volleyball: An Early Preview

2012-05-16T18:18:57Z

If somehow you missed the message in the title, there are only 100 more days until Purdue Volleyball opens the season on August 24^th against potential Top-15 team Northern Iowa in the Annual Mortar Board Premier. Even though the football team is looking to have a good year, the best and most exciting team at Purdue (in my humblest and biased opinion) is already getting ready to make another run to the Final Four on the Road to Louisville. Though last season ended sooner than expected with a Sweet 16 loss against eventual Final Four team Florida State, Purdue can have home court advantage all the way to the Final Four this year as Mackey Arena is set to host the West Lafayette Regional (along with Nebraska, Texas, and California-Berkley each hosting a regional). Though it seemed like the stars were aligned to win a National Championship last season, this upcoming season is Purdue's best chance to go all the way under Shondell, with a veteran led squad looking to finish the season with the program's first National Title.

There are doubts coming into the 2012 season, however. Purdue did struggle at times with ball securityand passing, which cost them a few games (including the FSU loss), so how do they respond this season, especially after losing Bashen and Ehlers to graduation? Carly Cramer was one of the best defensive specialists in the Big Ten, perhaps even the nation, before she was forced to sit out the rest of the season due to a season ending injury, will she be healthy enough to return to where she was at the beginning of last season? Will the rest of the players, like Miller, Fox, and Gosewisch, learn from the previous season and be able to effectively take control of the floor and improve on last season's mistakes?

Another problem last year was the dependence on Ariel Turner; granted she is a First Team All-American and returning B1G Player of the Year, but problems arose when opposing teams found ways to stop her (like Penn State and Florida State). Will other outside hitters and middle blockers, like Nichol, Jones, Drewry and Rebarchak, be able to step up and fill her void in those game day situations, or are they going to let Turner continue to swing endlessly until she can finally get around the defense, even if it is late into the game? And of course, where do the freshmen come into play? Shondell brings in 6 new freshmen to West Lafayette, 3 hitters/middle blockers and 3 defensive specialists, but who will actually make a contribution this year, and who will end up redshirting this season?

These are the big questions and concerns going into the 2012 season, but within the next 100 days, Coach Shondell and the volleyball squad will answer these questions and solve any problems before their match-up against Northern Iowa. Speaking of that August 24^th match-up, this is my current projection at the starting line-up for the beginning of the season:

My Projected Starting Line-Up:

Setter: Rachel Davis
Outside Hitters: Ariel Turner & Val Nichol
Middle Blockers: Anna Drewry & Kiki Jones
Defensive Specialist: Carly Cramer
Libero: Amanda Miller

Many of these positions are carrying over from the previous season, such as Davis, Turner, Nichol and Jones, and really should be no surprise. I could see possibly Rebarchak or even Griffin taking one of these, but it seems like Shondell is very confident in these players. In his post-spring season interview, Shondell noted that Drewry was one of the best players during the spring games, and I think she will take Tiffany Fisher's old spot at middle blocker. This is especially good news after she tore her ACL in the 2^nd Round of the NCAA Tournament back in 2010, and seemed to not be 100% healthy last season, but I am willing to bet that this season, she will live up to her old nickname of "boom boom".

Perhaps what may shock some of you is who I have placed at libero. Personally, I am still a little pessimistic about Carly Cramer and her recovery from last year's injury, as she hardly played in the spring due to another small injury, and she is recovering much slower than expected. It's impossible to have 2 liberos in a match and switch them in the middle of a set (sorry, Danny Hope), so as it looks now, I think Shondell will go with Amanda Miller at libero and still have Cramer be a starter, but allow other DS (like Fox, Goose, or a freshman) to take her place if-need-be. Miller was libero during the spring games, and I thought she played well when I saw the spring game against NCAA Tournament team and A-10 Champ Dayton (it was the same day as the spring game, shame on you if you left Ross Ade to go to the bars instead of watching a fine volleyball match). She has come a long way from her huge accident, and is no longer wearing her protective helmet to prevent future concussions. So as it looks now, I think Miller will be libero as the season begins.

Unlike previous seasons, Purdue will have a challenging non-conference schedule against some of the best teams in the nation, along with the daunting task of facing the other 11 Big Ten teams in what is considered the best conference in the nation (shut up, Pac-12, no one asked for your opinion). Here are some of the games to look forward to this season:

August 24^th: Northern Iowa (Mortar Board Premier)
August 31^st: Washington (Tiger Classic at Baton Rouge, LA)
September 7^th-8^th: Louisville and Cincinnati (Big Ten/Big East Challenge, Cincinnati, OH)
September 14^th-15^th: Active Ankle Challenge (played in Mackey Arena)
September 29^th: Illinois
October 5^th: Nebraska
October 6^th: Our Most Hated Rival
October 17^th: at Indiana (Monon Spike Trophy Game)
October 27^th: Michigan State (Dig Pink Game)
November 17^th: Penn State (Get Wacky in Mackey)
November 21^st: Indiana (Monon Spike Trophy Game)
November 23^rd: Wisconsin (Senior Night)

Also, just as T-Mill does countdowns to football and basketball, I will be doing the same for volleyball. Here's what you can expect:

50 days: Shondell and his coaching staff
40 days: Non-conference schedule preview
30 days: Big Ten schedule preview
25 days: Incoming Freshman class* (tentative)
20 days: Anna Drewry
17 days: Catherine Rebarchak
16 days: Kaisley Fisher
15 days: Courtney Gosewisch
12 days: Kierra Jones
11 days: Carly Cramer
10 days: Katie Griffen
9 days: Amanda Miller
8 days: Ariel Turner
3 days: Hiliary Fox
2 days: Val Nichol
1 day: Rachel Davis

*If I find out what numbers each freshman player will receive before this date, I will give them their own separate article.

Also, I feel like rewarding those who have read this whole article with this message purposely placed at the bottom. I have discussed this with TMill and I have his blessing to do this. I am looking for an Assistant Volleyball Correspondent for the 2012 season. As much as I love doing this, I can no longer do this job alone, especially as I try to expand the volleyball coverage. The main reason why is because I am going to be a Residents Assistant at Hilltop Apartments this coming school year, which also happens to be my senior year in Atmospheric Science. Along with my other requirements at St. Thomas Aquinas, my research projects and Mortar Board, I will be very busy and I already know I won't be able to make it to numerous games. I know volleyball won't be as popular as football and basketball on this site, but my goal is to reach the same popularity baseball has received this year (granted winning your first Big Ten Title in 103 years will naturally draw in a crowd), but this also means keeping volleyball active on the site. Along with that, it's nice to have two different perspectives on the team and a game instead of just Juan.

I am looking for someone who is passionate about volleyball, someone who can make it to a majority of the games this season, and someone who can take criticism well about their writing and be able to use that criticism to improve (no "what-if" articles, this isn't the Indy-Star). Also, it would be a plus if you are already familiar with Hammer and Rails and its environment. A huge plus would be someone who can do this for at least 2 years and possibly take my position when I graduate in 2013 (not a requirement, but just a benefit in the long run).

Please do not email me yet, as I will create an application and possibly have interviews, depending on the applicants (yes I am that serious). If you are interested, expect the application to open sometime in June or July. Once I narrow down any candidates that apply and make my final selection, I will have you get in contact with TMill where he will approve you to be an author on the site. Again, keep an eye out for the application, as it will probably be open for about a week this summer.

It is going to be a great volleyball season in West Lafayette, and I hope all of you are able to witness this squad travel on the Road to Louisville.

LET'S-GO-PUR-DUE-VOLLEYBALL!! *Smack!*

Purdue Potluck at Off Tackle Empire

2012-05-16T12:33:44Z

Purdue Potluck at Off Tackle Empire

Purdue week continues as I contributed to the Purdue Potluck.

Purdue And The College Football Hall Of Fame

2012-05-15T19:22:39Z

My e-mail feed was blowing up today about perceived snubs and the college football Hall of Fame. Names like Orlando Pace and Tommie Frazier were thrown around as people who should be in, but are not and were not chosen this year. At Purdue, we've been lucky. Otis Armstrong was our ninth player selection and third since 2006. Given that we're not exactly a college football powerhouse, that's impressive.

Do we deserve more, however?

Here is our current roster of enshrines:

1951 - Andy Smith (coach)

1955 - Elmer Oliphant

1963 - Alex Agase

1967 - Cecil Isbell

1973 - Jim Phelan (coach)

1984 - Bob Griese

1988 - Jack Mollenkopf (coach)

1989 - Bump Elliott

1990 - Leroy Keyes

1999 - Jim Young (coach)

2006 - Mike Phipps

2010 - Mark Herrmann

2012 - Otis Armstrong

I don't think you can argue with the credentials of any of those men, but we certainly have a few more players eligible. To get in, a player must have the following:

A major First Team All-American recognition.
10 years since they last played in college.
Post football record as a citizen is also considered.
Professional playing career must be over.
Must have played within the past 50 years.

With that in mind, here are Purdue's top candidates:

Rod Woodson - An All-American in 1985 and 1986, Woodson is one of the most dynamic players ever in the collegiate game. He single-handedly beat Indiana in his last college game and was a First Round pick in the 1986 NFL draft at No. 10 overall. Professionally he was an 11-time Pro Bowler, holds a few NFL records, and was put into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot. The dude was so awesome he turned down a chance at the Olympics to keep playing football.

Honestly, I have no idea why Woodson is not in the College Hall already. It's a damn travesty that he's not.

Dave Young - Young, along with Herrmann, was Purdue's last unanimous All-American before Ryan Kerrigan. He was Herrmann's top target and was the first tight end to ever lead the nation in receptions. At the time he graduated he was the Big Ten's leading receiver as Purdue was on the cutting edge with this "forward pass" idea while many other teams in the conference were still grinding it out on the ground. He had 180 catches for 2,316 yards and 27 touchdowns, which are still all in the top 10 in school history in those categories.

Mike Alstott - Alstott was an All-American in 1995 by Gannett News Service, so I hope that is enough. The fact that he broke rushing records held by Leroy Keyes and Otis Armstrong gives him strong consideration. Off the field his character has been impeccable, and he has the cachet of being one of the last true rushing fullbacks in both the college and pro games. The fact that he was a rampaging beast of a man that almost single-handedly dragged a Jim Colletto coached team to a bowl game should get him nominated for sainthood, because it was a friggin' miracle Colletto even came close to a bowl.

Dave Butz - Butz once had a class with my dad, and given my dad is a 5'7" pharmacist, I don't think you could confuse the two. He was the fifth overall pick in the 1973 NFL Draft and played on the opposite side of the ball from Otis. He was a 1972 finalist for the Lombardi Award at defensive tackle, and won a pair of Super Bowl rings with the Redskins during a 16-year NFL career.

Drew Brees - Brees is ineligible until he retires from the NFL, but I think he's a stone-cold lock to be in because his off the field record is impeccable and he still holds virtually every Big Ten passing record. He won the Maxwell Award and Academic All-American of the Year as a senior and has a Super Bowl MVP award on his resume. He'll likely finish his career as one of the greatest passers in NFL history and he's probably headed to the Pro Hall of Fame for good measure.

Joe Tiller - In the coaching realm Tiller could be in the argument. He's the school's all-time wins leader, revolutionized a conference with the passing game, coached Brees, and won a conference title. I don't think he gets in, but he is at least worth mentioning if Mollenkopf is there.

Poll

Who should Purdue's next college football Hall of Famer be?

Otis Armstrong Elected To College Football Hall Of Fame (And Other Boilermakings)

2012-05-15T16:18:09Z

It is College Football Hall of Fame announcement day, and Purdue legend Otis Armstrong was voted into this year's class. He becomes the ninth former player to be inducted, and first since Mark Herrmann two years ago. Hopefully Mike Alstott and Drew Brees will join him before too long.

Armstrong played on some bad teams, but was an absolute stud at the time. He was the second Purdue running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, and his career rushing total of over 3,000 yards is still third on the school list behind Alstott and Kory Sheets:

Consider this on his numbers, however. Armstrong played in just 31 career games. Sheets, who passed him for #2 on our all-time rushing list in 2008, played in 50 games. Two of Armstrong's seasons were just 10 games, whereas Sheets had a 12-game season in all three of his four years, plus two bowl games and a 13th game at Hawaii in 2006. With the new Big 10 championship game it is possible (though unlikely) for a player to finish his career with 56 games played.

In other news:

Twitter / @elevenwarriors: I love the design work put ...
Presented without comment...

Pro Combat Goes B1G: Minnesota Edition - Black Heart Gold Pants
OMHR is re-designing all the uniforms in the Big Ten, and Minnesota's is hilarious.

Relegation: Why College Football Needs To Embrace Cannibalism - SBNation.com
I absolutely love the idea of promotion and relegation in all sports, and think we should do it. Can you imagine IU basketball having to play their way up from the Summit League last year?

B1G 2012 // Purdue's Smartest Guys In The Room - Off Tackle Empire
B1G 2012 // Purdue's Smartest Guys In The Room: Danny Hope springs eternal.

SEC could earn four national seeds - NCAA baseball - ESPN
Slight change in this week's ESPN bracketology, as Indiana State is now the No. 2 seed in our regional and Oklahoma the No. 3.

PG 64: Projecting the NCAA field | Perfect Game USA
Perfect Game now has Purdue with a brutal path to Omaha.

BaseballAmerica.com: College: Top 25 Rankings: College Top 25 Chat: May 14
Baseball America's Aaron Fitt offers congratulations on Purdue finally winning the Big Ten.

BaseballAmerica.com: College: Top 25 Rankings: College Top 25 May 14
Purdue stays at No. 15 in this week's Baseball America Poll

PG Top 50: Chomping at the bit | Perfect Game USA
Another static poll, as Purdue stays at No. 12 according to Perfect Game.

NCAA DIV I POLL - Current - Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
This is the lowest poll for Purdue, as Purdue moves up three spots back to No. 18.

USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 coaches' baseball poll – USATODAY.com
Purdue moves up two spots in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll to No. 13.

2012 ACC/Big Ten Challenge: Purdue Heads To Clemson

2012-05-14T18:28:29Z

After a 10-8 conference season in which three of our best players graduated I did not expect a favorable matchup in this year's ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Having played at home in 2008 (Duke), 2009 (Wake Forest) and 2011 (Miami), I expected that our Boilermakers would be headed on the road in this event, likely to the fifth or sixth place ACC team. We've helped the Big Ten win this event with three straight wins over Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, and Miami, and our overtime win at Virginia tech was the difference-makers two seasons ago.

Well, we have our second rematch in ACC/Big Ten Challenge history as we're headed to Clemson on Wednesday, November 28^th. This is the second time we have traveled to Clemson to face the Tigers in this event. In 2007 Chris Kramer famously knocked himself out on the basket support as the Baby Boilers lost a heartbreaker 61-58 to a pretty good Clemson team. It really was a sign of things to come. That was the first loss of the JJ/E"Twaun/Robbie era, and we led at halftime by three over the No. 18 team in the country. The Traitor was our leading scorer with 13 points in that game.

Shakin' the Southland is your SBNation home for Clemson, and the Tigers have been down of late, surprising me that we didn't get a better game. They were 16-15, 8-8 last season with a win over Virginia as their best victory. That's not saying a lot. They weren't even invited to a postseason tournament last year.

This team lost to a South Carolina team that needed improvement just to be awful. They also lost to Coastal Carolina and College of Charleston, which is like us losing to IPFW and Evansville. Their opponent last year in the challenge was Iowa, whom they beat in Iowa City by 16. Last year did break a string of four straight NCAA appearances, however.

This was a bad scoring team and a worse rebounding team. They shot only 43% from the field, and they lost their top two scorers in Andre Young and Tanner Smith. Milton Jennings is the only player with size that they have returning, so to me, it is clear what we must do.

Yes, we will have a young team, but this will almost certainly be its first true road game. We're going to be the better team and we'll have more size in the post with A.J. Hammons and Co. We need to win this game, and by all accounts should win it to put another positive mark in the Big Ten's ledger.

Boilermakings Is Talking One-Year Transfers

2012-05-14T13:01:22Z

With the new that Julius Mays spurned us for Kentucky we once again have two open scholarships for next year alone. In today's links I have a few players that could possibly fill that role, but nothing definitive:

Kentucky picks up Wright State one-year transfer Julius Mays - CBSSports
As I said last night, what a pisser!

College Hoops Update
Here is a list of outgoing players that have not agreed to a new school to transfer to. If you click on each player it does give their current eligibility, so what follows are some of the one-year guys on the list (not all of them, however).

Michael Williams Stats, News, Videos, Highlights, Pictures, Bio - San Francisco Dons - ESPN
I did some looking and this guy is a grad transfer that would be a nice fit.

Varez Ward Stats, News, Videos, Highlights, Pictures, Bio - Auburn Tigers - ESPN
Another possible fitth-year target, but was part of a point-shaving scandal at Auburn...

Player Bio: Malik Stith - ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
This guy left St. John's midseason, so maybe Gene Keady can send him our way.

Iona Transfer Kyle Smyth To Visit Boston College This Week - BC Interruption
Another player that could be an interesting one-year addition.

Farewell, Julysses Nobles - Arkansas Expats
This guy has one year left, so maybe?

We "CrissCross" the Country like Strangers On A Train " College Baseball Today
More love from Eric Sorenson at College baseball today.

Field of 64 to compete for title - NCAA.com
Purdue was left out of the NCAA Softball Tournament after losing five of its last six. Somehow Northwestern, at 27-27, was better than Purdue, Nebraska, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Iowa to get the second Big ten bid.

Track & Field Wraps Up Big Ten Championships
The Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships wrapped up on Sunday at the University of Wisconsin. The Purdue women tied for 10th while the men finished 11th.

Quinnette soaks in Purdue’s title.
Here is a story I did on Kokomo native Andrew Quinnette and his role on Purdue's baseball team this year. His sister is a fellow KHS '98 graduate.

Women's Golf Advances To 13th-Consecutive NCAA Championships
The 11th-seeded Boilermakers fired a 294 on Saturday to finish third at the NCAA Central Regional.

B1G 2012 // Purdue Cocktail Party Preview - Off Tackle Empire
The B1G 2012 preview series rolls on with Purdue week. To paraphrase KISS, "You wanted the best, you got Purdue!"