Kenny Thompson

History says Purdue will not come close to upsetting No. 2 Michigan on Saturday night at the Big Ten Championship Game. Since the Big Ten went to the East-West divisional format in 2014, the East winners are 8-0 with an average margin of victory of 35-15. As noted Saturday night by Gerry DiNardo on the…

Purdue guard Braden Smith earned the first of what could be several Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors Monday for his role in the 75-70 victory against Marquette in the Gavitt Games. The Westfield graduate and reigning Indiana Mr. Basketball scored a co-team-high 20 points to go with three assists and two rebounds. Smith…

It’s not the path optimistic Purdue football fans, and this columnist, predicted when forecasting a Big Ten West Division championship this season. Saturday’s 31-24 victory at Illinois not only secured The Cannon trophy for another season in West Lafayette, it helped create a four-way tie for first place with two weeks to go. With Iowa…

Purdue football lost its second legend in 2022 when Hall of Fame defensive tackle Dave Butz died Nov. 4 at the age of 72. Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson passed away on Aug. 24 at the age of 87. Butz is the third former Boilermaker great to die in 2022. Basketball All-American…

On Tuesday night, barring the unexpected, Westfield’s Braden Smith – and maybe Fletcher Loyer – will join a rare Purdue basketball fraternity. Since freshman eligibility became a permanent rule in 1973, Smith would become the 21st true freshman to start his first game as a Boilermaker. All but five of these freshmen have played with…

Over the next two weeks, 316 schools will begin pursuit of state football championships in Indiana’s six high school classes. In The Times coverage area, Noblesville, No. 9 Westfield, No. 7 Carmel, No. 11 Fishers and top-ranked Hamilton Southeastern get a week off before opening Class 6A sectional play on Oct. 28. Noblesville (3-6) will…

At the halfway point of the 2022 Big Ten Conference football season, it’s no surprise that Ohio State looks nearly invincible again and that Purdue is in contention to win its first West Division championship. It was expected by all but some in the national media that Nebraska would struggle and that former hometown hero…

How often has a college football team had former walkons drafted by the NFL in back-to-back seasons? The all-knowing Google didn’t have an answer for that question but it’s looking more and more likely that Purdue can make that unusual claim in the next few months. In his NFL Draft Watch column, The Athletic’s Dane…

With just a third of the college football season completed, the official start of the 2022-23 basketball season took place Tuesday inside Purdue’s Mackey Arena and Indiana’s Assembly Hall. The 125th college basketball season in West Lafayette is loaded with question marks, just like their 13 Big Ten Conference rivals. Thanks to a mass exodus…

My summer book reading list included Mark Montieth’s “Reborn: The Pacers and the return of pro basketball to Indianapolis.” Montieth recalls in great details the early struggles to make the Indiana Pacers the premier team in the American Basketball Association. One of the original Pacers, Ron Bonham, could be a chapter in a book of…