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WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Big Ten Football Championship Dec. 10

Since 2011, the Big Ten Football Championship game has been played at Lucas Oil Stadium and will continue, once again, for the 2018 season. Northwestern has clinched the West Division and will face the East Division winner, Ohio State, on Saturday, Dec. 1. This matchup should generate strong hotel room demand. Learn about hotels and restaurants in Hamilton County at VIsitHamiltonCounty.com.

State Basketball Tournament Drawings

High school basketball is well underway and it’s never too early to think about potential match-ups for the Indiana state title. The girls' basketball tournament drawings will take place on Jan. 20, and for the boys' tournament, the drawing will occur on Feb. 17. The season will culminate with the state finals taking place on Feb. 23 for girls and March 23 for boys. #baller

Major Events Calendar

IN CASE YOU MISSED

Big Ten Men’s & Women’s Soccer Tournament Returns to Grand Park

For the second consecutive year Grand Park hosted the Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Soccer Tournament. The Minnesota Gophers defeated Penn State 5-4 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw to take home the Women’s Big Ten Conference title Nov. 7. For the men’s tournament, Indiana won its 13th Big Ten Conference title by defeating Michigan 3-0 Sunday, Nov. 11. John Towle, HCSA sports development manager, can still be heard chanting HOO-HOO-HOO HOOSIERS serving to annoy most of his co-workers.

Carmel Dominates State Championships

Carmel High School’s girls soccer took the 3A title by defeating Homestead 2-1, securing the win with a goal in over time and finishing with overall record of 20-1-2. Carmel High School boys cross-country team won the state title by placing first with an overall score of 136 points (Fishers finished third with 150 points and Hamilton Southeastern finished 13th with 329 points). Carmel High School Boys Tennis defeated North Central for the state title, with Presley Thienanment defeating Aidan Harris from Park Tudor to win the individual state championship. Wrapping up the fall sports season, Carmel football fought hard against Warren Cental in the 6A high school state championship. Although they were defeated in the end, Carmel’s Beau Robbins was named the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude receipient. Overall, these add to Carmel’s incredible number of 140+ state titles. Fun Fact: “CL” is 150 in roman numerals… So when Carmel HS drives for 150 you saw the hashtag here first, folks: #CarmeL

NOTABLE NUMBERS

$22.5 million: amount of additional funds that will be commited by the U.S. Department of Defense and the NCAA for concussion research. The intitial $30 million study, which began in 2014, has collected data on more than 39,000 student-athletes and cadets at 30 colleges and military service academies. The additional $22.5 million will provide two years of research.

85.7%: Percentage of sports officials who claim they would consider quitting officiating if the fan environment doesn’t improve. In the survey conducted titled “The Nationwide Decline in Sports Officials” Ohio University cited multiple causes to the regression of sports officials. #BeKind

2.46%: Sack percentage of Andrew Luck through Week 12. This lovely stat is calculated by Times Sacked /(Passes Attempted + Times Sacked), The Huddle could dive further into the details but math is hard and we’re just glad Luck can make it through his pass progession…

STORY OF THE QUARTER

#TylerStrong

If you haven’t heard Tyler Trent’s story you will no doubt be touched and inspired by his fearless and positive attitude in his fight against cancer. A Carmel native, Tyler has used his platform to spread awareness and has even created an organization, Teens With a Cause that recruits kids to do service projects for families affected by the disease.

If you have heard Tyler’s story then you know he is a die-hard Purdue football fan. On ESPN’s College Gameday where his story was featured by Tom Rinaldi, he boldly – yet accurately – predicted that Purdue would defeat then-ranked No. 2 Ohio State. After the win he looked toward (IndyStar writer) Gregg Doyel and said, smiling: “Told you.”

Sports has the unique ability to bring us together, to cheer for victory with fellow fans and escape the doldrums of the workweek. Yet, for Tyler, when the game ends he faces a fight that is seen far too often. Many of us have been or will know someone, affected by this disease at some point in our lives, and the Tyler Trent Cancer Research Endowment at the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research is working to fund cancer research where, via the Walther Cancer Foundation, funds will be matched dollar for dollar. If you wish to support the Tyler Trent Cancer Research Endowment please click here, because, we can all agree that “Cancer Sucks.”

“A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.”

- Larry Bird