Category: Classics

Brunt: Why Arsenal Tech’s fight hits home for this inner-city product

By CLIFF BRUNT ISL Editor I remember being part of an inner-city football team with something to prove. The 1990 and 1991 Omaha North Vikings went out with a collective chip on our shoulders. We worked hard, won games and did it the right way. Many of us were black kids from middle-to-low-income households near […]

Brunt: West Virginia’s Huggins rips team after loss to Purdue

By CLIFF BRUNT ISL Editor WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Bob Huggins had me annoyed on Saturday. I was covering the Purdue-West Virginia game as a freelancer for The Associated Press and my deadline was approaching. West Virginia’s legendary coach was nowhere to be found after his team’s brutal 79-52 loss to the Boilermakers. (Here’s the […]

Indianapolis, prepare for a Nebraska invasion

Nebraska fans await the team after a win over Purdue in 2013. Photo by Ben Fahrbach By CLIFF BRUNT ISL Editor Note: The writer is an Omaha native and former Omaha World-Herald reporter who now lives in Indianapolis and will cover the Big Ten title game for Indy Sports Legends and the Sports XChange/Reuters. INDIANAPOLIS […]

ISL’s Q and A: Former Purdue football coach Joe Tiller

By CLIFF BRUNT ISL Editor Indy Sports Legends editor Cliff Brunt interviewed former Purdue football coach Joe Tiller by telephone this past Thursday while Tiller was home in Wyoming. Tiller, 69, is the winningest coach in Purdue history and led the Boilermakers to the Rose Bowl after the 2000 season. Here are the best comments from the 35-minute conversation. Q: What […]

Cliff Brunt: Purdue football coach Danny Hope must win now

By CLIFF BRUNT ISL Editor INDIANAPOLIS — Danny Hope probably could make as much money selling cars as he does coaching football. The fiery leader can find something positive in the most dismal performance. He’s had to be that way: Purdue has struggled on the field during his three-year tenure, and the injury bug has been awfully busy […]

The Robbie Hummel Twitpic that got 10,000 views

By CLIFF BRUNT ISL Editor Robbie Hummel’s legacy could be wrapped up in the overwhelming response to a simple Twitpic taken with a Blackberry on a random November night. Hummel missed two free throws late on Nov. 14, 2011 against High Point, and Purdue needed to hold off a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer to win. That didn’t sit well […]

Retired ex-Purdue football coach Tiller still thinks about comeback

By CLIFF BRUNT ISL Editor Every once in a while, retired ex-Purdue football coach Joe Tiller still gets the itch to return to the sidelines. Then, he thinks about Sunday through Friday. “There were times this year when I thought about tossing my name in the hat, but it’s an all-encompassing job,” the 69-year-old Tiller […]