Salon.com > Michael Marot

Luck gets good reviews in 38-3 preseason victory

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 07:36:01 +0000

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Luck made the complicated world of the NFL look simple Sunday.

One throw, one touchdown. Four possessions, three touchdowns. One game, one win.

It doesn't get much easier than that.

The rookie quarterback threw two touchdowns, including a 63-yarder on his first NFL pass, to lead Indianapolis past St. Louis 38-3 for the Colts' first preseason-opening win in eight years and their most lopsided preseason victory since 1966.

"It's probably the easiest touchdown pass I'll have in my life," Luck said of the 3-yard screen pass that Donald Brown turned into a score. "I threw it 3 yards in the air and Donald (Brown) gets the ball and the blocks down field and we score. Hey, maybe we can do it in the regular season, too."

Luck might have the toughest job in football this season — replacing Peyton Manning, the longtime face of Indy's franchise.

But he showed everyone Sunday that he can do whatever is asked.

Colts coaches wanted the man billed as the most polished NFL rookie since Manning to take 20 to 25 snaps. He got 24.

They wanted to keep him upright, and though Luck hit the ground twice, he was not sacked.

Luck looks good as Colts beat Rams 38-3

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:39:32 +0000

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Luck started his NFL career just like Peyton Manning — with a long touchdown pass on his first throw.

Then he one-upped his predecessor by winning his first NFL preseason game, 38-3 over St. Louis.

It was a perfect opening day for Luck and the Colts (No. 32 in the AP Pro32).

Indianapolis's coaches wanted this year's No. 1 overall draft pick to take 20 to 25 snaps. He got 24. They wanted to keep him upright, and though Luck hit the ground twice, he was not sacked. They wanted him to show his command of the offense, and in less than a half of play, Luck seemed to take a page right out of Manning's playbook.

Luck wound up of 10 of 16 for 188 yards with two TD passes. Three of the incompletions were drops, two were throwaways, and only one pass, a deep out to rookie T.Y. Hilton, came close to being picked off. But Hilton hauled it in, barely getting both feet inbounds, and in typical Manning fashion, Luck rushed the Colts to the line of scrimmage and snapped the ball before the Rams could challenge.

But it was Luck's quick start that dazzled Colts fans.

NCAA committee endorses new penalty structure

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 19:10:07 +0000

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA's Board of Directors has endorsed a proposal that could ban rule-breaking teams from postseason play for up to four years, just like the sanctions handed to Penn State.

The proposal would also negate all revenue teams that violated the rules bring in during the years in which violations occurred. If approved, head coaches also could be held accountable individually

The board endorsed the plan Thursday. A vote is not expected before the board's October meeting. NCAA schools can comment on the proposal until that time.

The proposal also expands the current two-tiered system for penalties, major and secondary violations, to four tiers and would increase the number of infractions committee members from 10 to 24.

Colts’ Luck eases into camp with light workout

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 17:18:16 +0000

ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts finally found something Andrew Luck can't do: sing.

Now they're hoping the No. 1 overall draft pick will be in tune when he starts throwing Sunday afternoon.

Less than 24 hours after serenading teammates with "Country Roads" during a rookie initiation, Luck trotted onto the practice field for his first NFL training camp workout — a light walkthrough that served as little more than a warmup act for Peyton Manning's hand-picked successor.

"It's always good to get out there with the offensive line, with the receivers, and it will be good to have a full-speed practice coming up this afternoon," Luck said after the morning session.

Thousands of fans are expected to attend Indy's first open practice Sunday afternoon at Anderson University, a Division III school located about 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis' west side headquarters.

Though players will not be in full pads, the new franchise quarterback will finally get a chance to dust off that strong right arm and get in sync with the receivers he's already been impressing.

"I think he's ahead of all of us," veteran Austin Collie said when he was asked about Luck's command of the offense.

Motorcycle racer, 13, killed in crash at Indy

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:10:00 +0000

The motorcycle racing community mourned the death of a promising 13-year-old rider in a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway while defending the youth circuit that allows teens to drive vehicles that can top 120 mph.

Peter Lenz of Vancouver, Wash., fell off his bike during the warmup lap for Sunday's first race at Indianapolis and was run over by another motorcycle, driven by a 12-year-old. Medical workers immediately placed Lenz in a neck brace, put him on a stretcher and began chest compressions while taking him to a hospital.

Several hours later, he was pronounced dead.

The Marion County coroner's office said Lenz died from blunt force trauma. More details could be released Monday following an autopsy on the youngest driver or rider ever killed at the 101-year-old speedway.

"Peter passed away early this morning when he was apparently struck by another rider," read a posting on Lenz's Facebook page, which was signed "Dad."

"He passed doing what he loved and had his go fast face on as he pulled onto the track," the posting said. "The world lost one of its brightest lights today. God Bless Peter and the other rider involved. 45 is on another road we can only hope to reach. Miss you kiddo."

Indy could have record 5 women in starting field

Mon, 17 May 2010 21:59:00 +0000

Janet Guthrie can see progress moving at full throttle.

The pioneering racer is now watching five women try to duplicate her milestone achievement by qualifying for this year's Indianapolis 500. There are women climbing over the wall for pit stops and female engineers dissecting data at Indy, giving a male-dominated sport the kind of female touch Guthrie always envisioned.

"I thought it would take two generations," she told The Associated Press by phone Sunday. "But it's only taken a little more than one."

It's been 33 years since Guthrie became the first woman to start a race at the famed Brickyard, and for most of that time, Guthrie stood virtually alone.

From her breakthrough moment in 1977 until 1999 only one other woman, Lyn St. James, qualified for Indy's 33-car starting grid. From 2000 to 2006, the number of females entered in the race was capped at two.

Now the numbers -- and perceptions -- are rapidly changing.

This year's potential female starters at Indy consist of the glamorous Danica Patrick, the first woman to win an IndyCar race; the personable Sarah Fisher, the first woman to win an IndyCar pole; fan favorite Milka Duno and two relatively unknown but promising rookies, Brazil's Ana Beatriz and Switzerland's Simona de Silvestro.