Winning Is The Best Medicine (hopefully)

Tonight I sat down in front of my TV and watched the Indiana-Wisconsin game on Lakeshore Public Television. Prior to the game I thought to myself how ridiculous it was that the game would not be televised nationally as more thank likely it would be a great game (not to mention that it featured the #2 and #25 teams in the country).

So, sitting there I had my Thai food (Bangkok Inn), my Emergen-C, and my "micro plush" blanket, and the beginnings of a cold, I watched Indiana knock off the #2 team in the country and the #1 team in the Big Ten.

Hopefully winning is the best medicine as I don't plan on being sick for long.

Full write up on the game tomorrow when I'm (hopefully) feeling better.

Another Nationally Recognized Hoosier - Megan Martz

Move over D.J., there is a new Hoosier getting lots of attention from the national media and it's none other than IU's Megan Martz.

"Megan Martz?" you may ask. "Is she on the volleyball team?" No. "Softball?" No. "Swim team?" No. "Ok, I give up, just tell me already!!!" Ok, Megan Martz is an IU Cheerleader, and she just so happens to be SI's Cheerleader of the Week!

First off, what the hell!?! How did those of us at Defend The Rock not know about this award earlier. With choice interview questions and answers like:

Perfect Date: Dinner and a fun activity like bowling or a ball game to get to know the person better.

at our disposal Defend The Rock could've long ago become the prime blog for tips on how to date cheerleaders. Personally I find that date suggestion of hers fairly weak and I feel she may be throwing us a curveball as earlier in the interview we get this:

I like to spend my weekends: Back home in Fishers spending time with my boyfriend and family and attending the Colt's games.

I don't want to ruin the whole interview for you, so you should follow the link earlier in the post and read it for yourself. But for our first installment of "How To Date A Cheerleader" here are some general tips I learned from the interview.

1. Like sports
2. Buy her a (little) dog
3. Don't generalize/buy into stereotypes about her (and others in her line of work)

So congratulations Megan on being selected as SI's Cheerleader of the Week, we here at Defend The Rock are very proud of you! And guys, go get 'em (but not Megan, she's taken!)

David Jack = Class Act

In an earlier post Defend The Rock introduced you to David Jack, one of IU Volleyball's new assistant coaches. Well, now we have learned that David Jack is a real class act. Aside from being a very successful coach in the past, in a recent interview (with iuhoosiers.com) we heard some things we really liked.

1. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
If I could visit anywhere in the world, it would be Africa. Why? I heard it's one of the most beautiful places in the world. My main reason for going would be to help decrease the plight of AIDS that is devastating a continent.

Ok - we here at Defend The Rock are big fans of Africa. Well, maybe "fans" isn't the right word, but in our time at a certain Big 10 school in Bloomington, Indiana we focused our studies on Africa to a fairly high degree. Also, it's always great to see from anyone, especially those in the sports community have the recognition of, and the desire to help eliminate/alleviate the AIDS crisis.

2. What is your favorite childhood memory?
The food ... for breakfast, fried dumpling, callaloo, friend plantain, for dinner, rice and peas, chicken or beef, boiled bananas. The food is delicious. I dream of having dinner at home every once and a while.

My god, that sounds scrumptious. I haven't eaten yet today and now David Jack has gone and made me even more hungry. I'll be making a trip down to Bloomington at some point and hopefully I can be a guest at the Jack residence for dinner, damn that sounds good.

3. What can the fans expect from the Hoosiers next season?
Playing hard, competing and challenging the best teams in the Big Ten. That type of intensity every time you step on the court can only lead to success.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! That's what I love to here from IU athletes and coaches. IU Sports always has been, and will be continue to be about intensity. The fans like to see their teams playing with intensity and passion, and I can guarantee you that if IU Volleyball displays it, fans will flock to the games.

On this day 20 years ago...

Today Defend The Rock and all of Hoosier Nation celebrate the birth - 20 years ago- of our star Quarterback Kellen Lewis.

Defend The Rock and friends were among the first to sing the praises of #15 and urge Coach Hep to start him (even before he was technically eligible, redshirt and all).

Happy Birthday Kellen!

<----Birthday Boy

What team was that playing in IU road jerseys tonight?

Seriously, what team was that playing against Illinois? Anyone who can tell me gets an official Defend The Rock T-Shirt*

43 Points? 43 Points? 43 Points?

Watching that game it was clear from the get-go, even with the strong start, that the team wearing the Indiana road jerseys just wasn't into the game. I didn't see the emotion, the drive, the passion, or the hustle that I've come to associate with the Kelvin Sampson coached IU team that I've watched all year.

From the looks of it, the IU team playing tonight just didn't care....and I'm sure they're gonna get a good yelling at from Coach Sampson.

Game Preview: Indiana at Illinois

Tonight at 7PM EST/6PM DTRST (Defend The Rock Standard Time, i.e. Central Standard Time) the Indiana Hoosiers will take on the Fighting Illini of Illinois at that *other* Assembly hall down in Champaign, Illinois.

Indiana has been dominant of late (Winners of last 5, and 9 of the last 10), while the Illini have decided it's ok to lose four of six conference games and drop five of its last seven games.

Personally I will be watching the stands to see all the signs that Illinois students are holding up. One can only assume they're none to pleased with Kelvin Sampson snatching away #1-in-the-nation recruit Eric Gordon from Illinois and bringing him to Indiana next season.

D.J. White Continues To Be A Man, IU In The Top 25!

I'm not quite sure how many times I've written this on Defend The Rock, maybe some loyal reader can get back to me on it, but DAMN, D.J. White is a man! What has he gone and done now to deserve recognition for this? How about being named the Big Ten Player of The Week. All he did was go and average 22 Points, 7.5 Rebounds and 2.5 Blocks per game this past week. Not only did he help lead IU to two victories over Iowa and Connecticut, but he played a crucial role in.....

GETTING IU RANKED!

Indiana currently sits at #23 in the AP Top 25 and #24 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll. This marks the first time IU has been ranked this year. I'd have to guess that IU will be sticking around on one or both for quite a while, or at least make plenty of appearances through the rest of the season.