First-year Indiana Hoosiers head football coach Curt Cignetti is not lacking in confidence.

Cignetti, who was hired away from James Madison after five seasons, was asked how he sells the vision of his culture to recruits during Wednesday’s National Signing Day press conference.

Curt Cignetti spent the last five years as head coach of James Madison

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First-year Indiana Hoosiers head football coach Curt Cignetti is not lacking in confidence.

Cignetti, who was hired away from James Madison after five seasons, was asked how he sells the vision of his culture to recruits during Wednesday’s National Signing Day press conference.

Indiana Hoosiers new head football coach Curt Cignetti is introduced in the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.  (Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)

“It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me,” Cignetti said.

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Indiana landed 10 players in the transfer portal, including former Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke, the 2022 MAC Offensive Player of the Year.

“Kurtis Rourke knows how to play quarterback,” Cignetti said. “While he’s got to do it between the white lines at Indiana, I fully expect him to do it. I think he’s going to be a great player for us.

“But everything is earned, not given. Nobody is promised anything.”

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Curt Cignetti spent the last five years as head coach of James Madison

News Flash top sports headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

First-year Indiana Hoosiers head football coach Curt Cignetti is not lacking in confidence.

Cignetti, who was hired away from James Madison after five seasons, was asked how he sells the vision of his culture to recruits during Wednesday’s National Signing Day press conference.

Indiana Hoosiers new head football coach Curt Cignetti is introduced in the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.  (Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)

“It’s pretty simple. I win. Google me,” Cignetti said.

MACK BROWN CALLS OUT ‘CLASSLESS’ POSTGAME COMMENTS BY NC STATE HEAD COACH AFTER RIV

Indiana landed 10 players in the transfer portal, including former Ohio quarterback Kurtis Rourke, the 2022 MAC Offensive Player of the Year.

“Kurtis Rourke knows how to play quarterback,” Cignetti said. “While he’s got to do it between the white lines at Indiana, I fully expect him to do it. I think he’s going to be a great player for us.

“But everything is earned, not given. Nobody is promised anything.”

Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson, left, Indiana’s newly announced head coach of football Curt Cignetti, middle, and Indiana Univeristy President Pamela Whitten pose together on Friday, December 1, 2023. Cignetti is the 30th football coach in the university’s history.

Cignetti emphasized that every player will have to earn their spot at Indiana, regardless of their past accolades.

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“Nobody has anything,” he continued. “Everything is earned. So, that’s how we run our program.”

Cignetti was the head coach at JMU for the last five seasons, including the last two years when the Dukes became an FBS program.

He led JMU to a record of 11-1 in 2023 and earned a spot against Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Indiana’s newly announced head coach of football Curt Cignetti speaks to the media on Friday, December 1, 2023. (Rich Janzaruk / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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“I am excited to lead this program forward and change the culture, mindset, and expectation level of Hoosier football,” Cignetti said when he was introduced as head coach at Indiana. “I want to thank Director of Athletics Scott Dolson and President Pam Whitten, and I look forward to working with both in building something special at IU. Both share my vision and belief that big things are ahead for the IU program.”

The Hoosiers went a combined 9-27 over the past two seasons under Tom Allen.

Allen was fired a day after Indiana completed its season, agreeing to a $15.5 million buyout.

Mike Woodson arrived Sunday at Assembly Hall ready to honor his mentor, the late Bob Knight, once more.

So the outgoing Indiana coach brought his own red plastic chair, placed it on the floor between the Hoosiers’ metal folding chairs that are still tethered together and used it during the rivalry game against No. 13 Purdue.

Then Woodson added yet another twist to a question that has mystified Indiana fans for 40 years — where is the chair Knight tossed across the court in anger on Feb. 23, 1985?

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Indiana coach Mike Woodson adds new twist to an old story on anniversary of Knight’s thrown chair

By The Associated PressFebruary 23, 2025 6:26 pm

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Mike Woodson arrived Sunday at Assembly Hall ready to honor his mentor, the late Bob Knight, once more.

So the outgoing Indiana coach brought his own red plastic chair, placed it on the floor between the Hoosiers’ metal folding chairs that are still tethered together and used it during the rivalry game against No. 13 Purdue.

Then Woodson added yet another twist to a question that has mystified Indiana fans for 40 years — where is the chair Knight tossed across the court in anger on Feb. 23, 1985?

“You realize that is ‘the chair,’” Woodson said after Indiana’s 73-58 victory. “I’ve had it a while. A lot of people say they have the chair but Scott Greer, the tennis coach here many years ago, he was the only one thinking out of the box that night when Coach Knight threw that chair. That morning he got up and came to Assembly Hall and got the chair and got (track coach) Sam Bell and Coach Knight and all to sign off on it, took pictures with it.”

Woodson’s story seems as plausible as any other, though verifying it would be difficult. Bell died in June 2016, Greer died in July 2022 and Knight died in November 2023.

But the infamous incident has hardly been forgotten. Replays still get millions of views online, and tales of the time a furious Bob Knight threw a chair across the court still make the rounds routinely in sports circles.

How did it happen?

Five minutes into a game against the rival Boilermakers, Knight let the referees know he disagreed with a foul call and drew the first of three technical fouls during the sequence.

The Los Angeles Lakers face the Dallas Mavericks at Crypto.com Center on Tuesday (February 25), a game in which Luka Doncic will take on his former team for the first time since his shock trade to LA.

The signs look someone ominous for the Mavs, whose General Manager Nico Harrison instigated the trade as he looks to build a championship-winning team without a generational talent.

Doncic finds form before facing Mavs

Doncic warmed up to face Dallas by putting in his most impressive Lakers performance so far, recording 32 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in Saturday’s win against the Denver Nuggets. Prior to that, the Slovenian hadn’t managed more than 16 points wearing purple and gold.

It looks as if the Mavericks might run into a Doncic that is back somewhere near his best, although Kyrie Irving wasn’t in the mood to discuss the ins and outs of facing his former teammate with the media ahead of Tuesday’s game.

Kyrie Irving keen to avoid Luka Doncic “narrative”

Asked whether going up against Doncic would be a “unique situation” and if he had “a feel” for what the Mavs would be “walking into” in LA, Irving chose to play dumb.

“Do we have a feel for it? What do you mean?” came the guard’s initial response.

When pressed, Irving continued the business-as-usual approach.

“High-level basketball game. A lot of good players on the floor at once.

“I’m pretty much focused and telling my guys to focus on the high-level game that we’ve got to win. I would love to get into emotions after the game, but before the game it’s just about having fun and making sure that we lock in, and have a deep focus. They’re going to come in and be ready to play against us”.

Only very briefly did Irving admit that Doncic would be on the Mavericks’ mind, principally due to his return to form against the Nuggets.

“Luka’s obviously going to have a lot of confidence that game, he played well last game, so he’s feeling good. We’ve just got to be aware of it.”

In just under two years together, Doncic and Irving helped Dallas reach the 2023/24 NBA Finals, where they were soundly beaten by the Boston Celtics.

Georgia football has a massive game approaching as they welcome No. 7 Tennessee to Athens for the game of the week in college football. However, this game comes one week after Georgia just had their worst performance of the season in their loss to Ole Miss.

Many Georgia and college football fans throughout the country are now doubting Georgia and wondering if they are good enough to beat the Vols and get back in position to make the 12-team College Football Playoff at the end of the season. However, there’s one former Georgia Bulldog who hasn’t lost confidence in this Georgia team, and Kirby Smart specifically.

Herschel Walker shares positive message about Kirby Smart, Georgia

Herschel Walker is a still a believer in Kirby Smart and Georgia.

ByTrevor Michael|Nov 15, 2024

Georgia football has a massive game approaching as they welcome No. 7 Tennessee to Athens for the game of the week in college football. However, this game comes one week after Georgia just had their worst performance of the season in their loss to Ole Miss.

Many Georgia and college football fans throughout the country are now doubting Georgia and wondering if they are good enough to beat the Vols and get back in position to make the 12-team College Football Playoff at the end of the season. However, there’s one former Georgia Bulldog who hasn’t lost confidence in this Georgia team, and Kirby Smart specifically.

Former Georgia running back Herschel Walker had this to share on a recent episode of ‘The Buck Belue Show.’

“I guarantee you this. Coming Saturday Kirby Smart gonna have them ready to play,” Walker shared. “People gonna see how good this team really is… I’m still picking them to win it all… As my great friend Rick Flair said, ‘To be the man, you got to beat the man.'”

Herschel Walker has not lost faith in Kirby Smart and Georgia

When Herschel Walker speaks, Georgia fans should listen. Walker is not only one of the greatest Bulldogs of all time, but he is one of the greatest college football players of all time. So he has earned the right to be trusted whenever he speaks. So if Walker isn’t nervous for Saturday’s game against Tennessee, UGA fans shouldn’t be either.

Former Westlake quarterback Cade Klubnik helped the Clemson Tigers end a disappointing season by their standards on a high note, orchestrating a game-winning drive against Kentucky on Friday in the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl.

Clemson scored a touchdown with 0:17 left to win the game 38-35, and Klubnik went 8-for-8 for 71 yards on the final drive before handing it to Phil Mafah for a 3-yard touchdown run. Klubnik finished the game 30 of 41 passing for 264 yards with an interception.

Klubnik bounced back after a mistake to help keep the final drive alive. Klubnik was flagged for intentional grounding, turning a second-and-3 into third-and-18. On the next play, however, Klubnik fired a pass to Troy Stellato for 16 yards to bring up a fourth-and-2 play that Mafah converted with a 5-yard run.

That helped set up Klubnik’s final two completions of the game, an 11-yard pass to Antonio Williams and a 15-yarder to Jake Briningstool to get the Tigers to Kentucky’s 3-yard line. Mafah then gave the Tigers a lead with his fourth touchdown run of the game, tying a Gator Bowl record.

The Tigers finished 4-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference play but picked up their ninth win of the season overall to end the year 9-4. Going into the Gator Bowl, Klubnik had thrown for 2,580 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. This season was his first as the full-time starting quarterback but played in 10 games during his freshman year.

Cooper Flagg could very likely hold more than his own weight in the NBA today, but by rule, he must be one year removed from high school before going pro.

So, he opted to go to Duke, and while most are predicting he’s a one-and-done, that may actually not be the case.

In a recent interview with “The Athletic,” Flagg, projected to be the No. 1 selection in this summer’s NBA Draft, made a stunning proclamation about his basketball future.

“I still feel like a kid,” he continued. “This is the only way I’ve ever known college. That’s how I see it. I really wouldn’t know how kids felt before, and if this feels different, if this feels more like being a professional. I mean, it’s the same thing for kids in high school, too, getting paid a lot of money. I don’t know. I feel pretty normal.”

The 6’9″ forward has been dominating as part of the No. 4 team in the country, averaging 19.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest. He’s started all of his 24 games played this season, shooting 48.3% from the floor and 37.0% from deep.

Bob Knight is a former American basketball coach who is most known for his time coaching the Indiana Hoosiers between 1971-2000. At the time of his retirement, he won 902 games which was a record at that time. He won three NCAA championships as a head coach, one NIT championship, and 11 Big Ten Conference championships as a coach for Indiana including going undefeated in the 1975-1976 season. He is one of the most innovative coaches in history, popularizing the motion offense.

Knight went on to play basketball for Ohio State. He was a star in high school, but struggled to get playing time at OSU under future Hall of Fame coach Fred Taylor. He was a reserve forward on the 1960 Ohio State team that ended up winning the NCAA Championship. The team also featured basketball legends John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas. The Buckeyes reached the NCAA Championship games each of the following two years and lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats each of those years.

“Where there’s a great painting, there’s a great painter. Where there’s a great and unique building, there’s a great architect. Where there’s a great team, there’s a great coach. No team ever won a national championship with a better coach than Fred Taylor,” proclaimed Knight.

In 1971, Knight was hired as the head coach for Indiana. In his first season, he defeated No. 14 Kansas, No. 7 Kentucky, No. 8 BYU, No. 16 Michigan, and No. 14 Ohio State and reached No.5 at one point during the season. However, Knight’s team reached the NIT and lost in the first round to Princeton.

Knight’s team improved drastically in his second season, reaching the Final Four and losing to John Wooden’s UCLA team that went 30-0. Knight did secure the third place finish with a victory over Providence in the Third Place Game.

Indiana reached the Elite Eight in 1974-1975 with Indiana’s first loss to Kentucky over the first four seasons Knight was coach over their six meetings (4 in regular season, 2 in post-season). This was a disappointment for the Hoosiers who rarely had any close games throughout the whole season and were No. 1 rank from 1/11/1975 till the end of the season. They swept the entire Big Ten by an average of 22.8 ppg. One of the biggest hurdles faced was losing Scott May to a broken left arm in the 83-82 victory at Purdue. Kentucky lost to eventual national champion UCLA.

In Knight’s fifth season as head coach, he ran the table and reached the perfect 32-0 record and Indiana’s third national championship in school history. They went perfect in Big Ten games this season as well. In the preseason, they defeated the reigning World Champion Soviet National Team by a convincing 94-78 margin. They were No. 1 the entire season and played one of the most dominating performances on 11/29/1975 against No. 2 UCLA where they won 84-64 In Gene Bartow’s first year as head coach of the Bruins.

This new heartstring-tugger tells the story of Ray McElrathbey, a football player who stepped in to help raise his younger brother while at Clemson University.

The Christmas Caroler Challenge (8 p.m., The CW) – In the Season 2 premiere we meet the 10 competing groups — from the most ultra-traditional virtuoso performers to those with the most unexpected twists on the classic Christmas carol. Celebrity judges Brandon Rogers, Mikalah Gordon and Garry Beers assess each group.

Inn Love By Christmas (8 p.m., Lifetime) – In this new Lifetime movie, a successful young woman living in Miami is climbing her way up the corporate ladder in the hotel industry. Although she doesn’t get back to her small northern hometown often, her grandmother is able to convince her to come home for Christmas.

Keith Morrison provides an update on the case of 23-year-old Kaylee Sawyer, who disappeared after attending her friend’s bachelorette party in Bend, Oregon, in 2016. An intense multi-state manhunt led investigators to her killer, a college campus security guard named Edwin Lara. Tonight’s show has new interviews with Kaylee’s mom and the family’s lawyer after they reached a settlement earlier this year with the killer’s employer. We also get never-before-released deposition tapes with the Lara’s co-workers.

20/20 (9 p.m., ABC) – “20/20” has the story of Rodney Reed, who was granted a stay of execution in his conviction for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites in Texas. Reed, who is being assisted by The Innocence Project, maintains that he did not kill Stites. “20/20” has an exclusive interview with Stites’ mother, Carol Stites, who talks about the heartbreak of losing her daughter and gives her opinion on the case. We also get interviews with Stites’ sisters, who believe Reed is guilty; and with Barry Scheck, attorney and co-founder of the Innocence Project, who believes they will prove Reed is innocent. We’ll also see an older death row interview by correspondent Deborah Roberts, conducted just weeks before Reed’s scheduled execution.

Craft in America (9 p.m., PBS / UNC-TV) – The new season starts with storytellers — artists who use narrative to communicate personal and universal truths. Featured: Nicholas Galanin, Julie Schafler Dale, Linda J. Mendelson, George Rodriguez and Christina Bothwell. A second episode airs at 10.