The Weekly Dosage- November 29th

A very busy weekend in the sporting world. So much to talk about over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts suffered their worst home loss in the Peyton Manning era. The 36-14 beat down on Sunday Night Football was not a pretty sight and something Colts fans aren’t use to in this last decade. Manning has struggled in their last few games, losing three of the past four. In the previous two games, he has thrown seven interceptions.

It’s not just #18. The offensive line isn’t providing the necessary time to throw down field and certainly isn’t creating necessary holes for Donald Brown to hit.

The injury bug continues to haunt Indy. The list is too gruesome and lengthy to list but the key players out include Addai, Hart, Collie, Gonzalez, Sessions, Brackett, four safeties…etc

The injuries aren’t the only thing bothering the Colts. What ever happened to the infamous long ball? Manning use to be deadly in the passing game. A game wouldn’t go by when Manning would connect with Harrison or Wayne for a 60 yard touchdown. No longer. Maybe the opposing defense plays the Colts differently, or the wide outs are getting older. Something isn’t right.

And 24 TOTAL rushing yards? Really. That’s just embarrassing. Bill Polian was frustrated with the offensive line after the Super Bowl last February yet no positive changes have been made.

Speaking of Polian, why play your starters down 22 with less than three minutes to play Sunday when your team is already beat up with injuries? If you won’t play them when you are 14-0, there is NO reason they should be playing down three scores so late in the game.

At 6-5, the Colts are tied with the Jaguars at the top of the AFC South. Another twelve win season doesn’t seem viable at this point but a playoff birth seems very possible.

Indiana Pacers

How bout them Pacers? First the blue and gold took their talents to South Beach, beat up on the Heat and the ‘big three.’ Sunday, the Pacers picked up their first ever victory at the Staples Center against the Lake Show 95-92.

Led by Roy Hibbert who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, the team is blossoming with talent and exceeding here early this season. At 8-7, the Pacers are just one game behind the Bulls who lead the Central division.

This is quality progress by the Pacers. And it’s only going to get better next season when Indiana can unload the heavy contracts and sign a few quality free agents. These guys are competing again and playing hard each night. Even Pacers legend Reggie Miller is taking notice.

First my Pacers smack the Heat upside the head in Miami, then tonight moonwalk over the Champs in LA. Nice win for the Blue n Gold..

Indiana Football

First the good news. The Hoosiers went into West Lafayette Saturday and got the win 34-31. It took a 26 yard field goal by Mitch Ewald to force overtime, and a 31 yarder to win it. Ewald’s kick was set up by a tremendous interception by junior Jeff Thomas in the extra period.

Indiana was able to recover from two Terrance Turner fumbles. His first on a punt return was the most costly, giving the Boilers the ball ten yards from the end zone. Tandon Doss had another special day tallying three touchdowns for the Hoosiers. It will be fun to see him play on Sundays in years to come.

Indiana returned the Old Oaken Bucket to Bloomington for the first time since 2007 when IU won with a long field goal to become bowl eligible and later playing in the Insight Bowl.

Sunday, athletic director Fred Glass informed fourth year head coach Bill Lynch that he will not be retained next year. Going 3-21 and finishing last in the Big Ten the last three years isn’t progress.

"My view was, given the circumstances of the last three seasons, that extending the contract was not a viable option,” Glass said. "It would send the wrong signal of what would merit an extension at Indiana University.

So the search is on. More to come about this later.

Purdue Basketball

Boiler fans had a tough day Saturday. First they lost to IU, at home in the bucket game. Then Saturday night, Matt Painter’s eighth-ranked basketball squad lost 65-54 to Richmond in the title game of the Chicago Invitational. E’Twuan Moore led Purdue with 16 points and nine rebounds, JaJuan Johnson finished with 13 and 11. The Boilermakers fell to 5-1 and their 23-game winning streak in regular-season non-conference games came to an end.

Purdue travels to Virginia Tech as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Butler Basketball

Purdue wasn’t the only Indiana school losing their first game of the season over the weekend. Brad Steven’s Bulldogs struggled against Evansville, falling 71-68. The loss breaks Butler’s 17 game home winning streak.

Butler was playing without their starting point guard Ronald Nored and it was evident. They looked disjointed, disorganized and flustered.

Senior Matt Howard led the Bulldogs and posted his third consecutive double-double with a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds.  Shelvin Mack finished with 13 points, and scored his 1000th career point in the game.

Butler is on the road at Loyola Wednesday at 8 p.m. on WNDY.