Each Memorial Day weekend since 1911, hundreds of thousands of race fans gather at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”. The Indy500 is a 200-lap race on a 2.5 mile course. 33 drivers compete for the Borg-Warner Trophy, introduced in 1936, which proclaims the event as the “Indianapolis 500-Mile Race”. Traditionally, the winner celebrates with a bottle of milk in Victory Lane (find out why)

The Borg-Warner Trophy, presented to the winner of the Indy500.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum is located within the speedway’s 2.5 mile track.

On a personal note, IndyCar racing is not a sport I closely follow, and I was skeptical when I stopped at the speedway and museum going through Indiana on vacation many years ago. But I was amazed. The exhibits, the history and the facility itself all made it one of the most memorable tourist stops in my life. I highly recommend spending several hours there if you have time in Indianapolis. Just standing in the middle of a 253 acre oval is a unique wonder.

Link to the Official Indy Sites: Race website, Facility and Track Map, Hall of Fame Museum

You can experience racing locally. Northeast Kansas has many destinations. Travel no farther than our own Heartland Park, which hosts a number of NHRA and other racing events.Take a look at the “Racing Stars of Tomorrow” participating in the Topeka Quarter Midget Association. The Kansas Speedway hosts notable NASCAR races, among others.

The library has a number of books and videos available to ramp up to the race.

An excellent start is Indianapolis 500: The Legacy Series: “A five-disc DVD set that starts with the dawn of modern Indy racing featuring legendary drivers. See how the cars are able to race at higher speeds due to new technology. Relive the glory of Team Penske’s dominance, Sullivan’s ‘Spin and Win’ and Big Al’s miraculous fourth win. See how the 90′s marked the changing of the guard. Legends hung up their helmets and opened the door for the current generation of racing heroes.”

Continue with a few books:

Tales From the Indianapolis 500: A Collection of the Greatest Indy 500 Stories Ever Told by Jack Arute, with Jenna Fryer, foreword by A.J. Foyt.

Jackie Stewart’s Principles of Performance Driving, edited by Alan Henry.

The library also has several books for the younger racing fan:

Indy Cars by Sean McCollum
Indy Race Cars by Janet Piehl
Indy Cars by Carrie A. Braulick
The World’s Fastest Indy Cars by Glen Bledsoe

5K and 10K Training by Brian Clarke

The Beginning Runner’s Handbook by Ian MacNeill

Run Your Butt Off by Sarah Lorge Butler

Come to the library Wednesday April 24, from 7-8:30 and spend an evening with the inventor of basketball, James Naismith, as he is brought to life in a one-man play  by Dr. Bill Worley, instructor of history, from the Metropolitan Community Colleges of Kansas City Blue River campus.

Dr. James Naismith was born near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada during the American Civil War. After completing a ministerial graduate program at McGill University in Montreal, he became one of the earliest enrollees at the YMCA International Institute in Springfield, MA in 1890. The following year he devised a new indoor game that another student dubbed “basketball.” After completing a medical degree in 1898, he became the chaplain & physical education instructor at the University of Kansas. There he organized the first male basketball teams, and the rest is history. There are myths that he was the only losing coach in KU history, but as he will explain, he really wasn’t a coach, and they really didn’t keep track. One of his players in the early years was Forrest Allen, later known as “Phog,” whom he acknowledged as the “father of basketball coaching” even though Naismith still didn’t really believe a coach was necessary in a game simply meant to be “played.”

Dr. Bill Worley will bring Dr. Naismith to life with stories about all aspects of his life and experiences [Naismith later completed his ministerial path by becoming an ordained Presbyterian minister on top of his other qualifications]. Worley has been portraying Naismith for the last half dozen years with the Kansas Humanities Council and in other venues.

Whether you’re a sports fan, someone who’s interested in history, or Kansas history, or simply want to know more about a fascinating man whose influence is still being felt today, we encourage you to come to the library on April 24 from 7-8:30 in Marvin Auditorium 101BC and learn more about the inventor of basketball, Dr. James Naismith.

For more information, contact Nate at 580-4545 or nhohl@tscpl.org.

Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd celebrate their destruction of Nate’s bracket in 1999.

All of this got me to thinking – when was the last time someone told you their bracket was doing well? I don’t think I’ve heard it once this year. Yet someone has to be winning their pools, right? It seems like we all have a negative view of our brackets because we expect to get everything right, and when we get a few games wrong, we become overly pessemistic. After the first weekend of games I thought I was in terrible shape. Then I looked at the pool I’m in and realized I was in seventh place out of almost 100. What I didn’t take into account is that everyone else was doing poorly as well – as is the case most years.

I’ve also been thinking about brackets, and how we feel the need to torture ourselves by filling one out each year, only to have our hopes dashed and be shown how little we really know about college basketball. I’ve been filling one out since 1989, and have saved them all. In the 1990s I started filling one out with my own predictions, and then another to show what actually happened in the tournament. The other day I looked back through some of those and was hit with a wave of nostalgia. I saw, in 1999, when I got seven of the Elite Eight teams correct, and still had all of my Final Four teams left, only to have three of those four lose in the quarterfinals. I also saw (and KU fans will have to forgive me here) in 2003 when I picked Syracuse to win it all as a three seed, and was correct. In fact, I was so sure they were going to win that year that I put their name all the way through my bracket before I filled anything else out. Of course, I didn’t get any of the other Final Four teams correct that year, so I can’t brag too much.

Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara actually made Nate look halfway intelligent in 2003.

I was also hit with a wave of nausea when I saw how utterly wrong I was most of those years. There haven’t been many years where I completely misfired on the Final Four as I did this year, but there were several times when I only got one right. Two was not entirely uncommon. And I guess I’ve gotten three right a couple times. I’ve never predicted all four, and if my past picks are any indication, I won’t be winning the grand prize on the ESPN bracket challenge anytime soon.

When I was looking at those old brackets I started thinking. I was thinking about what it was like to fill out my bracket this year – what it’s been like to fill out my bracket for the past twenty four years. And I realized that every year when I fill it out I feel good about my picks.  I look it over and think I’ve done a good job. It all makes perfect sense. It’s hard to imagine it going another way.

And then the games are played and I feel like a complete idiot.

What was I thinking? Why didn’t I have more guts to pick that team? How could I have possibly thought they were going to get to the Championship Game?

I realized the unpredictability of March Madness – what we love so much about the NCAA Tournament – is exactly what destroys our brackets each year. So we root for the 15 seed to beat the two seed – as long as we haven’t selected that particular two seed to make it to the Final Four. But you know what –  even if that does happen, like it did to me this year when Florida Gulf Coast beat Georgetown, we still enjoy it because it’s what makes March mad.

And continuing to fill out our brackets thinking this will be the year we get it right is what makes us mad.

And that’s what makes this the best time of the year.

So, in the spirit of the season, let me ask: how is your bracket doing? Let me know if yours looks better than mine, and tell me who you think will be cutting down the nets on Monday. Also, check out these books we have in our collection about the Final Four:

Fifty Years of the Final Four: Golden Moments of the NCAA Basketball Tournament by Billy Packer

Last Dance: Behind the Scenes at the Final Four by John Fenstein

And just for fun, if you can’t get enough of brackets, check out these two books by Mark Reiter and Richard Sandomir:

The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything

The Final Four of Everything: A Celebration of all That’s Great, Surprising, or Silly in America Using the Foolproof Method of Bracketology to Determine What We Love or Hate and Why

When I was a young child it was so much fun playing basketball in the backyard with my dad and showing him my latest shots and moves.  He finally put up the basketball goal when I was seven-years-old, so I’d quit shooting my basketball in the driveway into our trash can, with the new garage door as a backboard; and to my frequent pleading, when I was 10 he installed the square concrete court, which was momentous for me!  With his encouragement and teaching, I played competitive basketball regularly, and into my late 30′s.

I spent far more quality time over the years though watching the “big games” on TV with my dad, and as I got older I grew to appreciate this experience even more.  After KU came into more recent national prominence in 1985 and after their 1988 national championship, more was increasingly expected of them each year; and my dad always reflected that in his comments when they’d play bad or lose, also reflecting his justified expectations of me in life in some way, I think.

Ten years ago at this time, we were watching again, as KU was making its tournament run, rocky at times, and getting eliminated in the Big 12 tournament semifinals, but they would recover.  We watched on TV in a comfortable room in the hospice.  My dad missed KU’s NCAA tournament march to the title game against Syracuse though, passing away March 9, 2003; I think he would’ve been proud, and at how they played in the loss.  I didn’t watch any of the subsequent NCAA tourney games, only the championship game by myself.

I don’t play my beloved basketball anymore, and have moved on to other interests and passions, but still watch all the big games.  I’m sure every so often there’s an angel or two sent down in my father’s name to help console the losses and celebrate the victories…on the court of life.

Check out a couple of books we have here at the library that deal with parents, kids, and how to make sports fun and enriching for children:

“How to Win At Sports Parenting: Maximizing the Sports Experience For You and Your Child.”  And,

“Parenting Young Athletes: Developing Champions in Sports and Life.”

With all of March to relax and enjoy the “Madness” that it brings, you’re  going to watch these amazing College Kids and dream big!  Use this month to inspire you to greatness with some books from our wonderful sports collection in the Youth Services area.  We have videos to help you improve your skills like: Driveway Basketball Drills

When you need a break, dive into the history of the NCAA tournament with a book like:  NCAA Basketball Championship.  What better way to show respect for the game you love than to learn the history!

So,  make a “fast break” for the Library, “crossover” to the kids area and we will “assist” you.

Arriving at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from the Hotel Biltmore on July 30, Curtis met officials from the International Olympic Committee and the Los Angeles organizing committee. According to news accounts, a choir of 1,000 sang the Star Spangled Banner, trumpets sounded and 100,000 spectators cheered as the officials and athletes took their places and began the Parade of Nations.

Reporter Allison Danzig noted during the parade of 2,000 athletes from 39 countries the Canadian, Finnish and Italian athletes gave the “Fascisti salute” to the vice president as they passed his reviewing stand. It may seem odd to us today, but the salute was based in history on ancient Roman practice. It had not yet been entirely hijacked by Blackshirts, Nazis and what we today think of as fascism. She did note the German athletes “doffed” their yachting caps and cheered as they passed Curtis’ box. If you want “real” fascist salutes, fast forward to the 1936 Games in Berlin.

Vice President Charles Curtis (center) opening the 1932 Olympic Games.

Curtis opened the games with the proclamation: “In the name of the President of the United States I proclaim open the Olympic Games of Los Angeles Celebrating the Tenth Olympiad of the modern era.” Again, trumpets blared and cannon fire preceded the singing of the Olympic hymn, lighting of the torch, raising the Olympic flag and freeing thousands of birds.

It was a busy trip for the vice president.

He couldn’t escape politics or the Bonus Army controversy. On his way to Los Angeles, Curtis’ train stopped in Las Vegas (pop. 9,000) so he could make remarks on the benefits of Hoover Dam’s construction nearby. A few Bonus Army sympathisers heckled him. The vice president shot back, “You cowards, I’m not afraid of any of you!” Someone in the crowd cheered for Hoover’s opponent in the presidential race, Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt. “If you wait for him to be elected, you’ll be an old man,” Curtis replied.

In Los Angeles, the vice president presented fellow Kansan Amelia Earhart with a Distinguished Flying Cross for being the first female pilot to cross the Atlantic solo. It was, she remarked, “an overwhelming honor.” Curtis also helped dedicate a state office building in Civic Square.

Visit the library to find out more about Charles Curtis: his ties to Kansas and Topeka, family, and his Native American heritage. See his historic home, his burial place at the Topeka Cemetery or the state office building named after this legendary Kansan.

FC Kansas City Logo

Soccer fans in Kansas City have had a lot to be excited about recently. With the success of Sporting KC, visits from the Men’s and Women’s National teams, and the recent announcement of the MLS All-Star game, Kansas City has been the center of soccer’s attention in the United States. With all this happening there was another soccer announcement in December that might have gotten overlooked. Kansas City was chosen as one of only eight cities to get a team in the new National Women’s Soccer League. Boston, Chicago, Western New York (Rochester), Sky Blue (Piscataway, NJ), Washington D.C., Portland and Seattle will all make up the rest of the new women’s soccer league.

There have been several women’s soccer leagues in the past. The most recent was the WPS (Women’s Professional Soccer) which only lasted from 2009-2012. Hopefully, the new NWSL will last a little longer. The new league is being backed by the United States Soccer Federation, The Canadian Soccer Association, and the Mexican Football Federation. What that means is that those three federations will pay the salaries of their national team players. That will keep the cost of running these soccer teams down, and hopefully keep this league afloat. Each team in the league got at least two players that are on the United States, Canadian, and Mexican National teams. So, the balance in the league should be good and make for great, competitive soccer matches. What that also means is that at every home game you will probably see one of the top women’s soccer players active today like Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, and Hope Solo.

FC Kansas City will play their home games at the Shawnee Mission District Stadium. The stadium will hold 6,150 people making it the third largest in the NWSL. FC Kansas City’s games start in April 2013, so definitely put them on your list of things to do in Kansas City this summer. I know I will.

If you are interested in more books on U.S. soccer, try reading Hope Solo’s new book Solo: A Memoir of Hope.

First off the Kansas City Royals announced that their annual fan caravan is coming to Topeka on Thursday January 17th.  The group of Royal players will meet fans  at Skinny’s Sports Bar and Grill 4016 SW Huntoon.  The fan caravan offers baseball fans a glimpse into the upcoming baseball season and offers the community a opportunity to meet Royals players in a informal setting.

The Royals Players scheduled to appear are–Topeka native Aaron Crow, first baseman Eric Hosmer, and pitcher Everett Teaford, along with team Hall of Fame member Willie Wilson. The players are scheduled to be at Skinnys around 3:30 p.m. and stay for about an hour.  (A word of caution–the caravan events usually draw a large crowd often start a little later than scheduled so be flexible and allow for time.)

if your thing is seeing some exciting High School basketball action, check out the 51st Topeka Invitational Tournament.  The eight team tournament begins January 17th with a full slate of 4 games.  The tournament with 4 games each day runs through Saturday evening.

This years tournament is hosted by Topeka West and features other local teams Topeka High and Highland Park who will do their best to bring the trophy back to Topeka.  Other teams in the tournament are Wichita East and Wichita Southeast from the always powerful Wichita City League, and KC Washington.  Two teams from the Sunflower League Olathe South, and Lawrence round out the bracket.

The tournament has always been known for a high level of competition.  The Topeka teams always play the guests  from out state tough.  In the 2012 edition of the tournament– Last years champs Sunrise Christian Academy from Wichita featured numerous future Division I players.  Runner-up Topeka High gave this team all they could handle before falling in a physically played game.

Both the Caravan and the Invitational  are long standing events on the Topeka sports scene.  They are guaranteed to help you shake off the post holiday doldrums.

Only the Jayhawks never seem to take a step back.

And lately they haven’t been maintaining their consistency with the kind of recruiting classes Kentucky is becoming known for. Perusing the men’s basketball roster for the Jayhawks probably isn’t going to give anyone chills, or leave you with a sense of awe. Oh, there are some good players – Elijah Johnson, Ben McLemore, and Jeff Withey come to mind – but at the same time they aren’t bringing in multiple five star recruits each year either. Yet somehow they always seem to be right in the thick of things at the end of the year. How does this continually happen?

The answer would seem to be Bill Self.

Self’s coaching acumen has never really been doubted, but in my opinion it’s a step above many of his peers. Certainly he won a national championship with a collection of great players, but how can we explain the past couple of years when he directed the Jayhawks to the Elite Eight and Championship Game with rosters no one was talking about at the beginning of those seasons? Those were also the years they were supposed to be dethroned as the Big 12 champs, which never happened. Sure there have been some stinkers in the NCAA Tournament – Northern Iowa, Bucknell, and Bradley come to mind – but the past couple of years have shown us how Bill Self can take a group of players, get every ounce of talent out of them, and mold them into a team.

Although there was no NCAA hardware to hoist the past couple of seasons, I think those were likely the two best seasons of coaching we’ve seen from Bill Self. I’m thinking we’ll see more of the same from Self and KU this year, and hopefully, for Jayhawk fans, for years to come.

If you haven’t had a chance to read it, check out Bill Self’s book, “At Home in the Phog”, available here at TSCPL.