Today he wrote a piece, then corrected the piece, then apologized on Peegs.com. Just like his first piece. I see a trend.
Oh and the other trend... another Mike apologist. Interesting how this piece throws Bracey under the bus while not laying a bit of blame at Mike's feet. And my how things will be different this year... why they already are. This team has chemistry! We'll see when they toss it up for real. Right now every team has chemistry... but most have a coach.
First the Corrected piece... Expectations are Everything for IU Basketball - Inside Indiana
Then the original piece...
Ken Bikoff
Peegs.com & Inside Indiana Editor
1917.
Say it with me boys and girls.
World champion Chicago White Sox.
Understand, this is as foreign to me as say, "Purdue is the finest institution in the state of Indiana."
It just ain't right.
Now, what does this wonderful, exciting, reducing-Ken-to-a-sobbing-mess-on-the-floor event have to do with IU basketball?
It has everything to do with expectations. It has the world to do with what we want from this year's basketball team, one that most people believe has a chance at winning the national championship.
The talent is there. I don't disagree with that. There is no reason IU shouldn't be ready to do some serious damage in the Big Ten and the Big Dance next season, but it will take a team working together to make the difference.
Last night, my White Sox continued their team effort the same way they have all season. There wasn't' a go-to guy in the lineup, so they just kept plugging. The result was air-raid sirens going off on the South Side of Chicago and the first White Sox title in 88 years.
Teamwork can be a beautiful thing, and IU seems to be enjoying a lot of that on the hardwood these days. There's a chemistry with this year's team that didn't exist. Last year, Bracey Wright was interested in putting the team first and hoping IU was successful, but a close 1a) was his stock at the NBA level. Wright was auditioning for the NBA all season, and he didn't put his best foot forward for IU last season.
This year, things are different. The team is much more goal-oriented, and the ballclub isn't read to defer to anybody. They are interested in winning, no matter what the cost. They want a Big Ten title. They want a regional title. They want the national championship.
Those are all loft hopes. So was the World Series in August when people complained the White Sox had done nothing to improve their lineup. My attitude was, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." For once, the Sox agreed and did virtually nothing. It paid off with a title.
This year's IU basketball team is somewhat similar. There is the feeling that even without the new offense installed, there are a lot of areas that need work. Even head coach Terry Hoeppner wont' disagree with that. But believing this team can turn things around is half the battle. Hep is doing all he can, but now it's up to the fan to believe both on the road and at home.
Hep was frustrated following the IU-Ohio State loss because his team didn't play as a unit. Individuals made mistakes, but the individuals were a bit short. Just getting that kind of attention will build any program, but IU's at this point, needs more attention.
Enter the 2005-06 squad. It's a group that is ready to step into a vocal role, but a leader must emerge from the practice sessions. Killingsworth or White need to be more assertive and prove to the world they belong in Big Ten play.
But even if they follow, the Hoosiers feature a bright future with quality talent. The White Sox are the best organization in pro sports today because their scouting in so great. The duo of James Hardy and Marcus Thigpen are drawing a lot of attention from scouts, even though their commitments are to Bloomington. They are the stars of the future.
Which brings us to last night. Expectations can be rough to live up to, and the Sox didn't treat their at-bats as something sacred. Sure, they wanted to win, but they didn't have to impress everyone on the way. This years' football and basketball squads just want to be competitive, and at this point, they both have a chance to come up with a title. It will come to superior coaching, something IU hasn't always capitalized on.
All of which should leave IU fans who are Sox fans even more focused on winning. Jeff Keag from the IU sports information department is one of those guys. He wants badly to win, especially now that he has a taste for it.
So what does IU basketball have to do with White Sox baseball? Not much on the surfaces, but beyond the victory, the Sox season is about how a true "team" plays. Everyone picked up their teammates and kept everything going without there being any ego problems. It is something that has been a problem over the past couple of years but which should have IU fans excited. The foundation has been laid, but now it is important for IU athletics to take that next step.
Expectations are rough, and not everyone lives up to them. IU's athletic department — for the time being, at least — has been trumpeting that team effort on the football field, but now it's time to keep that momentum going for basketball. It remains to be seen how effective IU's group can be, but there's no question the basketball team itself believes it can be a special year.
And again, anything can happen to make IU's season that much more interest. Let's just hope everyone can get behind both teams to understand what it takes to cheer a winner.
Ken Bikoff can be reached via e-mail at kbikoff@insideiu.com
Then the apology...
I know the main topic on both the premium and open boards today has been my column, and I wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone for reading my articles and apologize for the state of the original piece that went up early this morning. There were far too many typos and problems with the writing, which I later corrected once I woke up this morning.
I offer no excuses other than to say that I was very tired when I wrote it after getting little sleep over the past couple of days finishing II's basketball yearbook. Reading over it this morning, I was shocked and embarrassed at how many mistakes I made.
The piece as it was first presented was not up to the standards of Peegs.com or Inside Indiana, and I should have waited until I was more well-rested to put up the column.
I write my opinion pieces to be entertaining and interesting reads, but the one I originally put up fell well short of that. I stand by my statements about team unity being key for IU this season, but the errors that were made were unacceptable.
Please do not take this post as me being thin-skinned. Far from it. But if I am quick to criticize when mistakes are made on the football field or on the hardwood, I should be just as quick to criticize myself when I do the same. My original column had too many mistakes. It has been corrected now, and just know such a thing will not happen again.
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