Hoosier sports review: 2010

It was a newsworthy year for current and former Hoosier athletes. It was a year that included Super Bowls, Ryder Cups, and pressing off field issues. Here’s a look back at some of the major stories that broke in 2010 with Hoosier ties.

Super Bowl XLIV: February 7, 2010-South Florida:
The Colts returned to Miami, a site where three years prior the team won Indianapolis’ first Super Bowl with a 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. This time, the Colts would face an emotional and juggernaut NFC representative in the New Orleans Saints.  The Saints, the first team to ever take a three-game losing streak into the playoffs and win the Super Bowl, overcame an early 10-0 hole and were led by an almost-surreal 32-39 performance by Drew Brees.

The game will be remembered for its second half, in which New Orleans coach Sean Payton successfully opened the half with an onside kick to add to one of the most memorable Super Bowls ever. With 3:12 remaining in the game, second year Saints defensive back and former IU standout Tracy Porter intercepted Peyton Manning and took the pick for six to seal the game.

“When we got inside of 2 minutes, I knew we were going to win the game,” Porter said. “I didn’t want to take anything for granted. I knew we still had about (3) minutes to go in the game and we had to go back out there, but … once we got the fourth down stop in the red zone with 55 seconds left, then I knew we were winning the game.”

2010 Ryder Cup: Celtic Manor, Wales-October 1-3, 2010:
PGA Tour surprise star and former IU golf great Jeff Overton’s successful season earned him a spot on the 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup team; a team which hoped to defend its 2008 championship over the Europeans. Overton, an Evansville native, recorded six top-10 finishes and runner-up accolades in 2010.

Despite a memorable comeback by the Americans on the final day of play, the Europeans captured the cup. Overton gained notable publicity during the event on the first day of play. Dawning a rain suit and battling sloppy conditions, he hit a 35-footer for birdie and yelled a familiar Indiana phrase; “Boom Baby.”

“Some days you hole the putts and some days you don’t,” exclaimed British open champion Padraig Harrington after the first day’s round.” “It was Jeff’s day today…”

A.J. Moye (IU basketball, 2000-2004) suffers stroke overseas-November 18, 2010:
Although members from IU’s 2002 Final Four and national runner-up team are about as spread out as the Oregon offense was Monday night, the season still lives vividly in the mind of Hoosier fans across the country. A 74-73 Sweet Sixteen win over Duke and rout of Kent State in the Regional Final propelled IU to its first Final Four since 2002.

A.J. Moye, who stuffed Duke’s Carlos Boozer under the basket with seconds remaining in that Sixteen matchup, suffered a stroke while playing professionally for the Deutsche Bank Skyliners Frankfurt. The former Hoosier star fell after a head-on collision with a teammate and was rushed to a hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. Upon the first week of December, Moye began rehabilitation.

2010 Old Oaken Bucket Game: November 27, 2010-West Lafayette, IN:
Although it appeared in newspapers and various media outlets as the pitting of two teams with no bowl hopes or implications, IU players and coaches saw it as an opportunity to reverse their inability to win on the road, win the Bucket and halt a 12-game conference losing streak.

Much like IU in 2007, the last time the Hoosiers took the Bucket, Purdue jumped out to a commanding second quarter lead. Although down 21-7 in the second quarter, IU receiver Tandon Doss returned the opening kickoff of the second half to the Purdue 46. Doss’ return jumpstarted one of the most memorable comebacks in recent IU football history. The climax came when Hoosier linebacker Jeff Thomas intercepted Purdue’s Rob Henry in overtime to set up a Mitch Ewald field goal to win the game.

Although it would be the final game of Bill Lynch’s tenure at IU, he finished as the first coach to take the Hoosiers to a bowl game since Bill Mallory in 1993. Lynch also won two Old Oaken Bucket games in his four years. Doss, who just last week declared for the NFL Draft, scored 3 touchdowns on eight receptions and 64 receiving yards.

“I wanted to make sure the field goal had gone through,” IU receivers coach Billy Lynch said after the game. “But it’s fitting that since Doss was the first one to the ball all day, it was only right that he was the first one to the Bucket.’’