Indianapolis —
Chuck Pagano made a couple emotional appearances in the Indianapolis Colts’ locker room before and after Sunday’s game with the Miami Dolphins.
It was Pagano’s first appearance at a Colts game since being diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia in September. The Indianapolis coach was released from the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center a couple of weeks ago after undergoing his initial round of chemotherapy treatment.
He had been undergoing outpatient care at his home and is scheduled to begin a second round of chemotherapy this week.
“To get everyone up to speed, Chuck was obviously at the game. He was good enough to speak to the team before the game and then obviously we just had a great locker room moment with him,” interim coach/offensive coordinator Bruce Arians confirmed after the game.
“He’s about to undertake a very, very serious week of his treatment, but he’ll bounce back, we know he will.”
While Arians didn’t want to go into details about what Pagano said before the game, the team did release video of the coach’s comments in the winning locker room on its website Sunday night.
“It was a very personal message to the team. Circumstances are what they are, you’ve got to make the best of them and you’ve got to fight. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell,” Arians said, adding that the team didn’t award a game ball to its stricken coach.
“No he didn’t want one. He got his game ball on that scoreboard.”
Say what?
Referee Tony Corrente may have some explaining to do to National Football League officials after what transpired with his on-field microphone during the course of Sunday’s game.
In the first half, Corrente either left his mike on or was having trouble with it as fans in the stadium and media in the press box heard his conversation with his officiating crew. But the conversation got a lot saltier in the second half as he let loose with several expletives as he argued with other officials over placement of the ball after a penalty.
When asked by a media representative after the game about his comments, Corrente offered up a brisk, “No comment.” But former NFL head of officials Mike Pereira, who now is an analyst for Fox Sports, tweeted that he expects Corrente to receive a call from the league.
Injuries
The Colts came into Sunday’s game with Miami missing cornerback Vontae Davis (knee) and rookie tight end Coby Fleener (shoulder).
In the aftermath of the 23-20 win, several more names were added to the injury list. Cornerback Jerraud Powers (toe), offensive tackle Winston Justice (knee), outside linebacker Robert Mathis (back), center Samson Satele (back) and wide receiver Donnie Avery (hip flexor) were all sidelined during the game and did not return.
Mathis was in his first game back after missing three weeks with a sprained knee. Running back Donald Brown was active but saw limited playing time after he experience some swelling in his knee. Brown played against Tennessee a week earlier after undergoing minor knee surgery.
Notes
The Colts’ current three-game winning streak is the franchise’s longest since 2010 (Weeks 13-16, four games). The Colts improved their home record to 4-1 this season and have won four consecutive games against the Dolphins dating back to 2003.
Rookie quarterback Andrew Luck set league and team single-game passing marks in the win over Miami. Luck became the second rookie in NFL history to record four 300-yard passing games (Peyton Manning, 1998).
His 433 passing yards mark the third-highest total in a single game in franchise history. His total sits behind Manning’s record of 472 against Kansas City on Oct. 31, 2004 and his total of 440 yards versus Jacksonville on Sept. 25, 2000. The Colts finished with 419 net passing yards, which is tied for the fifth highest total in franchise history and the most since Sept. 12, 2010 against Houston (419).
Luck’s first-half passing total of 273 yards is the fourth-highest total in franchise history for a first half (Manning, 324 vs. Buffalo on Sept. 23, 2001). He also became the second player this season with 270-plus passing yards in the first half (Drew Brees, 314 in Week 7 vs. Tampa Bay).
He set career highs in passing yards (433) and attempts (48), tied a career-high in touchdown passes (two) and totaled his second-highest amount in completions (30).
Wide receiver Reggie Wayne, with his touchdown catch Sunday, surpassed Edgerrin James (75) for third place on the franchise’s all-time touchdowns list. Wayne also passed James (458) for seventh place on the team’s all-time scoring list.
Sports
Pagano inspires Colts
Ailing coach spoke to squad before and after victory over Miami.
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Barnes sets Taylor's career hits record
Taylor baseball standout Logan Barnes made his final game at George Phares Field one to remember.
Barnes pitched four solid innings to lead Taylor past Monroe Central 9-3 Tuesday. In addition, he went 2 for 3 at the plate, pushing his career hits total to a school-record 142. -
Kats drop heartbreaker
When the postseason arrives, emotions surge like a roller-coaster. One minute, it’s a long uphill, then a wild series of events offer a barrage of frights and thrills. And then, for one team, the ride ends and there aren’t any more tickets for another go around.
After two days of chills and thrills, Kokomo’s softball team ran out of tickets Tuesday night in the Class 4A Harrison Sectional. The Kats dropped a 4-3 decision to Harrison in eight innings, giving up a run in the top of the extra frame, and having a runner tagged out at home in the bottom of the frame.
“It was a great game,” Harrison coach Dick Mitchell said. “It’s always nerve-wracking to coach in one of them, but both teams played their hearts out. Nobody deserved to lose that game, but unfortunately somebody does.” -
Comets turn heads at track regional
Heading into Tuesday’s IHSAA girls track and field regional at Fort Wayne Northrop High School’s Spuller Stadium, event workers alike weren’t sure of Eastern High School’s location.
After the dust settled, they may feel compelled to get a map out and find out where Greentown is located.
Led by seniors Sarah Wagner, Brittany Neeley and Bethany Neeley, the Comets qualified for the state finals in six separate events to finish fourth as a team with 55.5 points, behind host and champion Northrop (78), Bellmont (68) and Carroll (Allen) 66. -
GASKINS: Hibbert’s block was thing of beauty
For the better part of the NBA season, ESPN devoted all kinds of time on SportsCenter episodes to replays of two dunks. Anyone who watches any ESPN at all surely knows the two to which I’m referring: 6-foot-11 DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers posterizing 6-3 Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons, and 6-8 LeBron James of the Miami Heat hammering home a dunk over 6-2 Jason Terry of the Boston Celtics.
Day after day, ESPN commentators lavished endless praise, which quickly grew tiresome. The dunks were strong, but Jordan and James were much taller and heavier than Knight and Terry and the dunkers also caught perfect alley-oop passes with the defenders in poor positions to defend. Still, ESPN commentators loved these plays.
I kept wondering if a great defensive play would receive the same kind of love. -
Coons, Walker, Glassburn reach Victory Lane
When the dust settled Sunday evening at the Kokomo Speedway, a pair of drivers who have visited Victory Lane in the past at the local oval found themselves there once again while a talented up-and-comer hit the hallowed ground for the first time.
Jerry Coons Jr. had his way in the sprint car feature and Craig Walker seemed to get faster as the laps wound down to win the Street Stock main event, however Kokomo High School sophomore Kory Glassburn had to scratch and fight before scoring the first feature win of his career in the Thunder Car A-main. -
Field is set for Indianapolis 500
After being bumped from the starting field while sitting on the qualifying line on pole day, Josef Newgarden turned the fastest time on bump day, assuring himself a spot in the Indianapolis 500.
The field of 33 cars will have one final opportunity to practice on Friday before next Sunday’s 97th running of the 500.
One year ago the Sarah Fisher Racing Team withdrew Newgarden’s entry on the first day of qualifying and had to qualify on bump day. This year the team decided not to make another qualifying run and got bumped. -
Athlete of the week
Cole led the small-school Comets to the Kokomo Sectional title, their first title since 1998.
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Kats regain tennis throne
At 10:51 a.m. Saturday morning, the bulk of Kokomo’s girls tennis team sprinted from the viewing hill to the east entrance of the tennis courts to mob No. 1 singles player Morgan Mohr as she came off the court following her 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Eastern’s Courtney Clark.
The No. 3 singles match was still raging, but the team match was already won. The Wildkats had reconquered the throne from two-time defending champion Eastern and were once again champions of the Kokomo Sectional. -
Eastern boys track claims first sectional title since 1998
The boys track and field coach at Eastern High School from 1987 until last season, Paul Nicholson’s parting message to his team was simple: “Don’t deny the gift.”
That motto left such a lasting impression on the Comets’ returning athletes that they had it screen printed on their 2013 season T-shirts.
With Nicholson in attendance to celebrate with them, new coach Austin Roark and the Comets outlasted host Kokomo to win their first sectional title since 1998 Thursday night, topping the Wildkats by 3.5 points, 124.5-121.
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Eastern, Kokomo favored in boys track sectional
Some of the names and faces have changed, but the plot remains much the same.
The Kokomo boys track and field sectional, much like last year, will likely be a two-horse race between the host and three-time defending champion Wildkats and Eastern, a team looking to break through and win its first sectional title since 1998. - More Sports Headlines
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