Sports Weekend

Indiana Basketball:
The Hoosiers walloped poor North Alabama 121-76 to open exhibition play, and Eric Gordon put in 24 even with a broken tooth. Other impressive performances were Jordan Crawford throwing in 30 (he could be our Corey Maggette-esque super-sub this year), Jamarcus Ellis stuffing the stat-sheet and getting 6 steals, and DJ White recording 6 assists and zero turnovers. The offense looks top-notch again, but the defense may still be a question. It's hard to tell anything when the score's this lopsided, tho.
The Hoosier Scoop has a good analysis.

Indiana Soccer:
Another 0-0 tie has me a little nervous. The upside is that the Hoosiers are going into the postseason strong, but they've had a little too much trouble generating goals, or for that matter, shots on goal. They outshot Wisconsin 23-7, but only got 7 shots on goal. Still, there's only one loss (in OT) in their last 12 games, but I'm just hoping they're saving all of their good luck for this month's games.

Indiana Football:
The Hoosiers beat Ball State as expected, and made themselves bowl-eligible. But I really think they have to beat Purdue at home to snag an actual bid. I don't expect them to beat Northwestern on the road as the Wildcats are in a very similar position, which will leave them with a must-win in the final game against a, let's face it, superior Boilermaker football club. But the Boilers aren't so much better than they can walk into B-ton and expect a win. IU's got a real shot at the upset.

NFL
Watched a bit of the Patriots-Colts game. Sure, the Colts folded and lost late as they couldn't run the ball and had some crazy plays go New England's way, but it is just one game in the regular season. I think if Marvin Harrison is playing, this is an entirely different game. The Colts probably pick at least one more TD if sure-handed Marvin is in, and the threat would've opened up a lot more space Reggie Wayne and Joseph Addai's short and mid-range games. I'd much rather lose this one with its funny fumbles going straight into NE's hands and Colts' receivers dropping passes than have all that happen to Indy in the AFC championship game, which is where they'll probably meet again.

NBA
I'm not terribly surprised by Boston's good start (nice clutch shooting from Ray against the Raptors last night), but I am surprised by Chicago's terrible start. Are they too distracted by all the Kobe drama or is just the rash of injuries that's killing them? They'd better get over it, 'cause I think they're the only ones in the East who're going to be able to bring down Boston's momentum. Miami and Detroit's time has passed, although Detroit will still be dangerous. It's hard to see anyone in the East taking the championship, tho. The Pacers are 3-0, which is great, 'cause this year should be pretty tough. Get the winning attitude now, get some respect early, and maybe even sneak into the playoffs again. It's a longshot, but you never know.
San Antonio still is way too good not to pick out of the West, but if Phoenix pulls together, they could definitely knock off the defending champs. Houston's starting well, and got a nice addition in Luis Scola, but I see another first-round disappointment from the Rockets. All-in-all, when the day is done, I'd still put the smart money on the Spurs. Too good defensively and too smart offensively, it'll take a weird fluke or a bad injury to knock them off the mountain.