Two men who cast giant shadows across the Indianapolis sports scene left us the same day from the same disease. Myles Brand, stepping from academia into sports when he stood up to Bob Knight with his zero tolerance policy at IU, then taking a strong academic platform to the NCAA in his fight for reform is a terrible loss. I met him a few times, always cordial, asking about my background, smiling, friendly, pleased to get his message out. He was comfortable with the media, and helped take the NCAA into the new, more open age of blogs, internet and television. His stamp on the collegiate landscape will be that the NCAA is more than victories and big money..its about academics and student athletes.

Mel Simon kept pro basketball from leaving the cradle of the game when he and his brother bought the Pacers in 1983. The Pacers, Conseco, and his Circle Center mall rejuvenated a dead downtown, and even though he did very few interviews and public appearances, I’ll never forget the night he and his brother presented Reggie Miller with a Bentley when his number was raised to the rafters. Herb has come front and center, sitting down with me for an extended interview when he went “hands-on,” but he always spoke of his brother and what the Pacers meant to them. I salute the duo, without them, the Indianapolis sports landscape would look very different.

If you’re going to watch pre-season football, (and if I didn’t have to be at the games to cover them, I wouldn’t watch) check out Saturday afternoon’s Colts game in Detroit.

The coaching staff and players treat this one like a dress rehearsal for the season opener, meaning substitution patterns, calls, halftime adjustments will be the real deal.

Peyton Manning and company will play into the 3rd quarter, so, a few things to watch for. Austin Collie and Pierre Gracon playing the 3rd wide out position… who’s got the advantage?

Check out the o-line play… Charlie Johnson at left tackle and Ryan Lilja back at guard after missing a season.

Also, see how the defensive backfield holds up without Bob Sanders and Kelvin Hayden, and if Antoine Bethea and Marlin Jackson are ready to go.

If you’ve never seen a professional tennis match, this may be your last chance, at least in the circle city.

Andy Roddick’s unfortunate withdrawl with a hip injury leaves the struggling tourney with NO top 20 players. It’s never gone oh for the top 10! Makes one wonder if the ATP folks want to pull the plug on this historic event that’s been part of the Indianapolis sports landscape for decades. Why the tour officials can’t guarantee at least a few top players to each event is a question that cannot be answered, at least not yet.

Hopefully, something will change, or the summer will lose a pretty cool sporting event.

Coach Jim Caldwell’s first Colts mini-camp as head coach has some interesting changes from the way Tony Dungy did things. Besides so many new faces on the staff, he’s got a seating chart when players are in meetings.

Some of the guys were joking about it, Reggie Wayne saying he’s up front and in the middle next to the “teacher” now, so close he can run the projector, while Joseph Addai and Dwight Freeney are a few rows back and on the ends.

Dungy let the guys sit where they wanted, but Caldwell wants to know who’s there and who isn’t, and will take account of it. Pretty amusing!

Meantime, Adam Vinatieri and Joseph Addai revealing leg surgeries that will slow them down, but should not affect their status for the regular season come September. Addai had a knee scoped and is taking it slow, while Vinatieri had hip problems corrected by the same Vail, Colorado doctor that operated on Yankee Alex Rodriguez’ hip. He’ll probably miss training camp, but with rookies Pat McAfee and Tim Masthay experienced in punting and place kicking, they’ll be ready to step in.

Community Day always puts a smile on your face..no pressure, no stress, everyone has access to all parts of the track, it’s a happy day. One of the highlights is the two hour autograph sessions where every driver in the field signs for sixty minutes, poses for pictures and chats with fans. We spoke with a few of them..cousins Marco and John Andretti were ironically seated together by happenstance. John said it was great to catch up because neither had time to visit in what’s been a hectic time,especially for John trying to make the field, but he looked about as relaxed as ever.

Able to attend the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Fundraiser where we talked with current drivers that totaled some five 500 wins, all there to help raise money for spinal cord research. What put smiles on our faces was the cloud Schmidt was still floating on as co-owner of the “Pink Lloyd” car that qualified on pole day. Alex Lloyd, who won an INDYLIGHTS championship with a Schmidt-owned car bumped out E.J. Viso to grab the 11th slot in stunning fashion. He did it in an electric pink suit in an electric car that’s beginning to catch on. Expect lots of Pink Lloyd merchandise come raceday..two great guys, one great story.

The Colts came out of the draft sending some strong signs that things are changing in the AFC South. No longer can they just roll to division titles any longer, and their draft choices are giving some insight. Picking a running back in the first round will do a few things: push Joseph Addai after an average year, and if Donald Brown is indeed a game-breaker type, take some pressure off Peyton Manning and the passing game.

Good to see another receiver chosen, but I thought they would go with a speed receiver to help on the edges. Austin Collie is more of a possession wideout, so we’ll see how that goes. They also grabbed a pair of big, bulky defensive tackles to help stop the bleeding against the run. If you’ve noticed, officials are not calling offensive holding penalties as much anymore, which hurts speed rushers like Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney.

Pedigree programs hit the hardcourt at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Midwest Regional, making it an extra thrill for media and fans alike.

If you love college basketball like I do, seeing Tom Izzo, Bill Self and Rick Pitino, each with a national championship to his name, you gotta smile. Basketball royalty, eight titles among the four schools on hand, some great athletes, and we hope great crowds. The Final Four set-up is also impressive, and even though there will be some lousy seats, it’s a beautiful venue — one the players will need time to adjust to with sightlines.

My picks? Louisville by 11, then Michigan State by seven. Louisville beats the Spartans by six on Sunday.

What viewers and sports fans don’t get to see behind the scenes in putting our stories together is priceless.

Today, a group of us were ready to enter the Purdue locker room to get interviews for the game with Washington, but the security guards said the tournament chairman said “No media allowed.” We were up against our five and six o’clock deadlines, so we pushed. Ten minutes later, despite Purdue officials and coaches saying it was fine to let us in, still no access. It set some of us off, the guard saying on his walkie-talkie that the media were trying to force their way into the locker room!

We eventually got in, and coach Matt Painter laughed and said after hearing the whole episode that he didn’t want to mess with us…an angry mob!