Ink On Indy: A Review On This Week In Sports
Once a week Ink On Indy will be recapping the biggest news from some of our local teams in the sports world, all while providing news and our insight on the topic(s).
Indiana Pacers: The 2015 NBA Playoffs are rapidly approaching and the Pacers find themselves at risk of not being a part of the post-season action for the first time in five years. At 32-41 and .5 games behind the Brooklyn Nets for the eighth and final playoff seed in the Eastern Conference the team will need to pick up much-needed wins against the likes of teams such as the Celtics, Hornets and Heat. Indiana got a needed win against the Washington Wizards earlier in the weeks and the Dallas Mavericks Sunday night to help their chances of surviving beyond the season. The Pacers control their own destiny against these three mainly because just like the Pacers, they are fighting for their right’s to the playoffs as well.
Indianapolis Colts: Earlier last week Colts owner Jim Irsay revealed that veteran linebacker Robert Mathis may not be ready for a return until November of the upcoming season. If this does in fact happen, it would mark almost two years that the 34 year-old had played a snap. Questions remain as to whether or not Mathis can return to his productive self that he once was, coming off of a torn achilles. Mathis lead the NFL in sacks in 2013 with 19.5 at the crisp age of 32. It appears to remain unclear if he can manage to duplicate that type of success and be the dominant pass-rusher that he used to be.
Indiana Hoosiers: So far after a disappointing loss to the Wichita State Shockers last Friday, the Hoosiers have seen two players transfer, and questions loom on who will be staying and who will be going. So far for Tom Crean and the Hoosiers, freshman Max Hoetzel and sophomore guard Stanford Robinson have jumped ship in hopes of finding better overall situations for themselves. Many questions have been asked about head coach Tom Crean’s future with the team after a disappointing season, but things seem to be unclear in terms of Crean’s future with the team moving forward.
Notre Dame: Of course, I had to save the best topic of the week for last. The Notre Dame/Kentucky match-up may have been one of the best college basketball games that I have ever seen. The Irish came to play against Kentucky but were unable to secure the victory as they lost 68-66 in the final seconds after two clutch Andrew Harrison free throws that ultimately gave the Wildcats the win and a ticket to the Final Four portion of the tournament. Notre Dame made a lot of noise this year with multiple wins over some of the NCAA’s top teams and made a strong case Saturday night against Kentucky as to why they should be a force to be reckoned with in the 2015-2016 season.