Metering is ON

mutka

John Mutka

John Mutka worked full-time at the Post-Tribune for 40 years, covering such events as the 1980 Olympics in Los Angeles, three Final Fours, including Indiana’s …Read More

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  • Mutka: VU football shakes off growing pains

    Let’s be realistic. You don’t go from 1-10 to a Pioneer Football League championship in one year. Valparaiso’s Crusaders took some baby steps in coach Dale Carlson’s second season, but nobody’s pounding their chests and making boastful promises about the future. Progress has been painfully …Read More

    • Mutka: VU softball deeds receive Stevens’ vote

    Preseason polls aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on so Valparaiso University softball coach Jordan Stevens didn’t pay much attention when the Crusaders were picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League. Didn’t bring it up. Never mentioned it to the players. Didn’t use it for …

    Mutka: Hummel, Hoosiers grade A+ in Big Ten hoops

    It’s time to put the lid on Big Ten basketball for another year. No better place to start than by warbling a swan song for Purdue’s Robbie Hummel. Honors keep piling up for the senior All-American, who was named the program’s first Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award …

    Mutka: NCAA cracks down on bats and athlete-students

    No more pings. No more cracks. Aluminum bats are still lethal, but have become quieter weapons of destruction in the last two years. Now artificially deadened, they have caused home runs to drop faster than a Bear market on Wall Street.  College baseball’s power failure may not …

    Mutka: IU gives couch potato a wake-up call

    Random thoughts from this NCAA couch potato ... Pinch me. I must be dreaming. No doubt about it, Indiana pulled a rabbit out of the hat Saturday. Flummoxed by relentless VCU, which nearly reduced Jordan Hulls to tears with turnover-inducing double teams at midcourt, I was prepared …

    Mutka: Scattered Hoosiers will impact Tournament

    Time to dance! Starting soon in a distant arena, our hoops-crazy state will impact the NCAA waltz in a variety of ways. After all, next to corn, basketball talent is Indiana’s chief export. If you’re looking for some Hoosiers to tap-dance through March Madness with …

    Mutka: Passing of the torch in Horizon League?

    Don’t like the way your conference shapes up? Be patient, it will evolve. Look around, it’s a never-ending scenario. To keep it simple I’ll stick to the Horizon League, fresh from its weekend invasion of Valparaiso University’s turf to determine its automatic March Madness representative. …

    Butler’s Stevens cites Valpo’s ‘old’ juniors

    No doubt about it, the Horizon League is suffering from growing pains. In a good way, that is. It’s a fuzzy-cheeked league, stocked with blossoming underclassmen. Noteworthy on the rosters of Valparaiso, Butler and Loyola, for example, is the almost complete absence of significant seniors. …

    Mutka: Morandini pursues dream with Phillies

    Crosscutters to Blueclaws ... Doesn’t ring a bell for most baseball fans, does it? It peals loud and clear for  Mickey Morandini, who considers the promotion a  step towards his dream of managing in the big leagues. “I’d love to,” said the former Cub before departing …

    Mutka: McClendon, Tigers chase royalty with Prince

    Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon is too politically correct to provide blackboard material, but try as I might I can’t see anybody else in the American League Central putting up more than token resistance with the firepower Prince Fielder offers. Sure the defending division champs …

  • Mutka: Seelie makes his 16th fantasy camp a special one

    Kids who attach themselves to a baseball team usually cling to them passionately even if they move away from their grass roots as adults. I know from personal experience. It took most of my life to shake the irrational need to root for those lovable …Read More

    • Mutka: Big Ten’s balance of power invites nail-biters

    Fasten your seat belts if you’re a Big Ten basketball fan. Halfway through conference play the wild and crazy ride shows no signs of abating. If you believe number-crunchers like Sagarin and RPratings.com, the Big Ten is No. 1 in the RPI ratings. Last time …

  • Mutka: Murry Bartow carries on for legendary dad

    East Tennessee State basketball coach Murry Bartow was a couple years short of kindergarten when his fabled father, Gene, began coaching at Valparaiso University in 1964. Back then the Crusaders played at Hilltop Gym, a still-used relic  tucked away on the upper west side of the …Read More

  • Mutka: Plank understands Bears’ disconnect

    Interesting guy, that Doug Plank. Give me another half-an-hour with the former Bears free safety and I’d have enough material for a book. Unfortunately, Gary Old Timers hunting for autographs had first dibs so our interview (actually more like a conversation) was cut short at the …Read More

    • Mutka: Big Ten gets a kick out of its bowl victories

    Football specialists — kickers in particular — don’t receive much attention. Usually, you’ll find them off in a corner with a retriever, or bashing footballs into the net on the sidelines, waiting for the summons when a drive begins to fizzle. Poor neglected souls, they …

    Visit to Duffy’s brings out grievances

    Deep in the dark recesses of my soul I felt the urge to visit Duffy’s Bar. It’s a dark place where serious drinkers go to disappear, but I needed a retreat from sports. I was growing weary of athletic trivia, of people treating silly games like the fate …

    Mutka: Big Ten’s balance of power invites nail-biters

    Fasten your seat belts if you’re a Big Ten basketball fan. Halfway through conference play the wild and crazy ride shows no signs of abating. If you believe number-crunchers like Sagarin and RPratings.com, the Big Ten is No. 1 in the RPI ratings. Last time …

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