Photo Story: “Ever Faithful, Ever Two” – Starring Matt Painter, Purdue Pete, and Brad Stevens of Butler

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Earlier today, Matt Painter made Purdue fans sing out with joy when he announced that he will be staying at Purdue rather than accept Missouri’s offer to be its new head coach. Painter leveraged Purdue into taking more money out of its privately funded coffers so he could sign an 8-year contract extension, saying, “At the end of the day, my heart is at Purdue, and this is a place where I want to win a national championship.”

That is why all across West Lafayette you could hear choruses of “…ever faithful, ever true, thus we raise our song anew; of the days we’ve spent with you, all hail, our old, Purdue!”

But just because Painter is staying a Boiler does not mean all is perfect. Many people question how Painter handled this situation, including Purdue’s own mascot Purdue Pete, which means Painter has some ‘splaining to do.

And in terms of winning championships, there is that tricky little situation going on at a previously harmless Horizon League “mid-major” that doesn’t seem so harmless, nor so “mid”, anymore.

Details of both aspects of the aftermath of Painter’s announcement are included in our latest photo story.

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Matt Painter Update: Matt Painter staying at Purdue according to multiple sources

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I cannot confirm that this is really what is happening, and it goes against almost everything we’ve been hearing all day, but it’s certainly worth passing along.

Fox 59 in Indianapolis is reporting that Matt Painter will indeed STAY at Purdue, rather than accept an offer from Missouri.

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Matt Painter Update #2: “It looks like this will be a happy day for Mizzou fans.”

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Update: This supersedes everything you read below. It now appears that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was either full of it or misled or that Matt Painter had a last second change of heart. He is now reportedly staying at Purdue.

Not five minutes after posting my morning Matt Painter update did I stumble across this new information.

The title of this post contains the words of the highly esteemed Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post Dispatch (h/t @thebiglead), posted just a few minutes ago here.

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Matt Painter Update: Missouri/Purdue decision timetable, Nancy Cross apologizes, Rally fizzles, and Hummel’s future

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It’s time for your daily update on all things Matt Painter.

In today’s episode, we discuss: Painter’s Missouri/Purdue decision timetable; an unexpected apology from Ms. Passive Aggressive Nancy Cross; the Purdue student “rally”; and what Robbie Hummel will do if his coach heads west.
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Purdue fans: if Matt Painter goes to Missouri, it’s your fault! Signed, Purdue Athletic Department

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Other than Butler being the Final Four, and I guess the Pacers clinging to playoff life despite a sub-.500 record, the biggest story in Hoosier State basketball right now is the possibility that Matt Painter could be eschewing West Lafayette for the vacant Missouri head coaching job.

Purdue fans are understandably in a panic, with reports indicating that Missouri representatives are set to meet with Painter today in Florida. Purdue apparently made proactive overtures to Painter last night, but the details have not been made public.

What has been made public, however, is a letter that Purdue Sr. Associate AD Nancy Cross sent to members of the John Purdue Club in an attempt to assuage the growing frenzy of Boiler backers.

The letter – which was forwarded to me by someone at Purdue, and which is pasted in full below – indicates that, from the athletic department and university’s standpoint, everything is being done to keep Painter in West Lafayette. It also suggests, not subtlely, that had more JPC club members stepped up with donations, the current predicament never would have materialized.

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Many Strong Candidates for 2010-2011 College Basketball Coach of the Year [Poll]

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I tweeted 140 characters worth of musings on said topic last night, but figure I can elaborate a bit more here, as this college basketball season seems to present more deserving men for Coach of the Year than in years past.

As we motor forward during March Madness 2011, here are the leading candidates for the top coach in college basketball for 2011.

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Time for BASKETBALL season in Indiana

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Despite a surge of popularity in the past decade, especially at the pro level, football will always play second fiddle to basketball in the state of Indiana. With this in mind, after Sunday night’s embarrassing loss to San Diego on national television, I recommend it’s time for Hoosiers to figuratively and literally turn the calendar to hoops season as we approach December.

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Big Ten Tournament Preview: Tickets, TV Schedule, Bracket, and History

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This post and all of our March Madness coverage this year is sponsored by Armorex Exterior Coating, the company that helps keep you inside watching sports went you want to be…not outside re-painting your house. Do it right the first time, for a lifetime.

Update 3/13/10: This post was originally published on February 28th, 2010. The table below has been updated with all results leading up to Sunday’s title game between #1 Ohio State and #6 Minnesota.

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The Unfortunate Truth

Matt Lawrence from Dallas Sports Fans (the illegitimate child of the Sports Fans Network) here with an investigative report that just may knock your socks off.

We all know that Jerod Morris purports himself as a big time Hoosier but I have uncovered some evidence that would suggest that Jerod Morris may actually be a fan of the Purdue Boilermakers. I have indisputable video evidence that Jerod Morris is no doubt a fan of Matt Painter if not anything else.

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Michigan State Basketball Preview: Izzo Hopes to Take Spartans Back to Indianapolis

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The last time Michigan State won a national championship was the 2000 season…in Indianapolis.

Nearly a decade later, the Final Four returns to Indianapolis and the Spartans are hoping for a case of dèjà vu.

Last season the Spartans almost fulfilled a dream season but fell just short of winning a national championship in Detroit. Unfortunately for MSU, the North Carolina team they faced was truly the better team.

Now the Spartans are a much different team from a year ago.

State comes into the season with a #2 national ranking and is favored to be Big-10 champions for the second year in a row. Center Goran Suton and point guard Travis Walton may have both graduated, but new players are ready to step into their roles.

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#5 OHIO STATE @ #1 USC

posted by KVB

I waited until Friday to post this preview of the clash in the coliseum. Mostly because the X-factor in this game is the health of Beanie Wells. He plays effective and gets his normal 20 carries than Ohio State wins. If he cannot play or plays ineffective because of the nagging foot injury, USC will win…Big. [Read more...]

Purdue: Curtis Painter for Heisman?

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by Jerod Morris

This morning while sitting on the throne and taking care of business (I ate a huge meal at Chili’sCurtis Painer being sacked last night…fyi) I read something in the Sporting News that made me want grab the plunger and plunge the wooden handle into my eye socket: Curtis Painter, senior quarterback at Purdue, has an official Heisman Trophy campaign.

What? Really?

The only reason I tell you that I was near a toilet while reading this story is that my first reaction should have been to dump the entire magazine into the crapper and flush immediately. Unfortunately, as if passing a car wreck on the side of the road, I simply could not resist the urge to read on.

Apparently, Purdue has invested money in creating DVDs and calendars entitled “Painting a Masterpiece” that promote Curtis Painter’s storied career at Purdue University. It includes all of his big game performances, clutch TD passes against top-ranked teams, and the leadership qualities he has displayed in leading Purdue to Big Ten titles and BCS appearances.


If you did not get smacked in the face with the sarcasm of that last statement, you’re a moron. If that were actually true, Purdue promoting Painter’s big game performances, it would be a pretty short DVD. The only one “painting a masterpiece” in this story is me while I was taking the Browns to the Super Bowl as I was reading. [Read more...]

Big Ten Bloggers Roundtable: Rivalries

Big Ten Bloggers

Big Ten Bloggers

by KVB

Often I read my college friend’s Off The Tracks Purdue blog and he has gotten the attention of the Big Ten Bloggers Roundtable for his site on the Boilermakers. If I’m not mistaken he got slammed last year by readers for crossing the line in a rant about Notre Dame Football, but otherwise he’s a great writer and Notre Dame still sucks.Charlie Grimace

Soon maybe Midwest Sports Fans could have some writers in the Big Ten Bloggers Roundtable (even though I got rejected by the MAC Conference Bloggers) but until then below I answered their preseason questions. Keep in mind I’m wearing a sweatervest with no pants right now….

1. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg recently ranked the top 5 rivalries in the Big Ten and there were some controversial results (Illinois v Ohio State as #3?). Clearly Ohio State vs. Michigan is the #1 rivalry in the Big Ten, but give me your next three. [Read more...]