Sunday night the Indianapolis Colts (4-3) had lost 10 consecutive road games dating back to last season, and they were ready to take a win any way they could get it.

For Andrew Luck and the Colts it took two 80 yard touchdown drives in the fourth quarter and overtime combined to seal the team’s first victory away from Lucas Oil Stadium in more than half a season on Sunday against their division rival, the Tennessee Titans (3-5).

Indianapolis running back, Vick Ballard, went airborne and semi-back-flipped toward the end zone on a 16 yard catch and run on the first and only possession of overtime to end the contest.

It was Luck’s only touchdown pass of the afternoon, but the timing was impeccable.

“I threw it and I saw a Titans uniform flash and I thought, ‘Oh, God, this may be the end of the game in the wrong way,’” said Luck, who threw for 297 yards. “What a wonderful individual effort by Vick Ballard to get it in there.”

Both teams put up field goals in the first quarter. Titans quarterback Matthew Hasselbeck, who threw for 236 yards and a touchdown, connected with rookie wide receiver Kendall Wright for a touchdown on a 23 yard pass toward the left sideline of the end zone with only a minute remaining in the first half.

The two sides traded field goals the rest of the way until late in the fourth quarter when Indianapolis trailed 13-6 and was in need of a touchdown to tie the game.

With 10:56 to go in regulation and at his own 20 yard line, Luck took what the defense gave him. He relied on safe throws to open targets, and with 3:24 left on the clock, running back, Delone Carter, made his way into the end zone from one yard out to tie the score.

Running the football was very much a success for Indianapolis. They totaled 171 yards on the ground. In fact, Luck was responsible for 28 of those yards on 6 rushes.

Titans running back Chris Johnson had 99 rushing yards of his own on 21 carries.

The Titans had their opportunity to win the game following Carter’s touchdown, but were forced to punt after moving the ball all the way down to the Indianapolis 41 yard line.

After winning the coin toss and choosing to receive, the Colts allowed running back, Donald Brown, to do most of the heavy lifting in overtime.

But it was a 3rd and 8 conversion that put Indianapolis in position to end the game with a touchdown. Luck found veteran receiver, Reggie Wayne, in the middle of the field for a 20 yard gain down to the Tennessee 16.

Two plays later, Ballard was sprinting toward the end zone on a short pass from Luck, doing all he could to make sure he could get the ball inside the left pylon as he flew around it with his face pointing toward the sky.

The play was ruled a touchdown on the field, and after review the call remained the same. The game was over and the Titans were left shell-shocked at how quickly things appeared to make a complete 180.

“I don’t really understand how we lost the game,” said Hasselbeck.

Tennessee’s hoping that this won’t be the start of a trend, given that they’ll be seeing a lot of Luck for years to come.

Image Courtesy of  Official Tennessee Titans

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Someday, Tom Brady will hang up the cleats and be remembered for being one of the greatest quarterbacks we ever have and ever will see, despite being selected with the 199^th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.

But when that day does come, the final score of Super Bowl XLVI may ultimately be the deciding factor in how he is remembered – win or lose.

Yes, the two time league and Super Bowl MVP has already been the man under center to lead New England to three world championships in his first four years as the starter. There’s no doubt that this is leaps and bounds above what the majority of quarterbacks in this league would ever dream of accomplishing.

However, after losing to them in Super Bowl XLII, another loss to Eli Manning and the New York Giants may eventually make a remembrance of Brady’s days in the NFL look like a tale of two careers – only if he fails to win another ring over the final years of his career, of course. Fans and analysts of the game would certainly still agree that he had an outstanding career once it’s over, but would immediately question his inability to make it back to the top after such remarkable success from the get-go.

The notion of ‘What if?’ is something to be considered with a loss in Indianapolis, as well. In the scenario that Brady once again falls short to Eli and never leads his team back to the top of the mountain, one of the first things that people will bring up during his induction into Canton is chatter about what he could have potentially accomplished. They’ll bring up points like, ‘What if he had won those two Super Bowls against Eli and won five? Would he be undoubtedly be the greatest ever?’

On the other hand, a victory in this game would at least open the door that begins comparisons to former 49ers Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana no matter what happens during the rest of Brady’s time in the league. Montana and former Steeler Terry Bradshaw are the only quarterbacks to have ever won four Super Bowls during their illustrious careers, but of the two, Montana has historically received more recognition for being a winner than Bradshaw. Brady wants nothing more than to join an exclusive class that includes the man he idolized growing up in California – Montana.

Brady is well aware of what this one game could potentially mean for him on an individual standpoint, and it will be very interesting to see how that affects his performance on Sunday.

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This February, Bud Light – the official beer sponsor of the NFL – is taking up residence in downtown Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI with the return of the Bud Light Hotel.

Beginning Thursday, Feb. 2, Bud Light will transform a 180-room downtown Indianapolis hotel (105 S. Meridian Street) into the premier destination for Super Bowl week entertainment. In addition to hosting exclusive parties from EA SPORTS and Playboy, the Bud Light Hotel will host a special concert featuring 50 Cent, Lil Jon and Bud Light-sponsored artist Pitbull the night before the Super Bowl and a special afternoon concert featuring the Barenaked Ladies before the game. The full Bud Light Hotel line-up of events includes:

• Thursday, Feb. 2 – EA SPORTS Madden Bowl XVIII (invitation only)
• Friday, Feb. 3 – The Playboy Party (invitation only)
• Saturday, Feb. 4 – 50 Cent, Lil Jon and Pitbull (doors open at 8 p.m.)
• Sunday, Feb. 5 – Barenaked Ladies (doors open at 2 p.m.)

Tickets for the Saturday and Sunday concerts are available throughout the Indianapolis metropolitan area, and more information can be found at www.BudLightHotel.com. Bud Light has also partnered with Yahoo! as the exclusive live broadcast partner of the Saturday night concert, ensuring fans across the country will be able to enjoy the Bud Light Hotel experience the night before Super Bowl XLVI.

The concert will be broadcast live on omg! from Yahoo!, the No.1 celebrity news site reaching more than 31 million fans per month at http://omg.yahoo.com/super-bowl-party-central and available on Yahoo! Screen (http://Screen.Yahoo.com), Yahoo!’s newly launched video destination.

“Bud Light Hotel has steadily become the epicenter of the entertainment during Super Bowl week, and we don’t know of any place in Indy where people can find a better, more diverse line-up of good times,” said Mike Sundet, senior director, Bud Light. ”And through our partnership with Yahoo!, we’ll liven up the Saturday night of music fans everywhere with the concert event of Super Bowl week.”

“The Bud Light Hotel concert has already become a signature Super Bowl week event that fans look forward to and now can experience this incredible line-up on Yahoo!,” said Ken Fuchs, VP, Yahoo! Media Network. “We are thrilled to be bringing this fantastic event exclusively to our 80 million music and sports fans around the country.”

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A survey comparing the rates of hotel rooms in Indianapolis over the ‘Big Game’ weekend has just been completed by CheapHotels.org, and the news is disheartening for diehard football fans and non-sports-fanatic Indy visitors alike this upcoming February. Hotels in and around Indianapolis are jacking up their rates as much as 2000% over their regular prices.

What is enabling them to get away with this ploy? Blame it on a scarcity of rooms. Indeed, most hotel rooms in Indianapolis for the ‘Big Game’ weekend were already booked solid a full year in advance of the big game. This inability to snag a place to stay is attributable to hotels blocking off 18,300 hotel rooms in 141 hotels in and around Indianapolis for the National Football League.

A few hotel rooms are still available in the near vicinity, but that convenience will come at a hefty price. Case in point is the Quality Inn & Suites. This 2-star hotel situated about 9 miles from downtown Indianapolis normally goes for $60 a night. Come early February, however, the no-frills establishment is charging $1000 per night, a 1500%-rate hike.

Those who are thinking they’ll slum it and go budget for the weekend might want to think again. At the Knights Inn Indianapolis Airport, where a room is normally priced at $39, they can expect to pay a whopping $800, nearly 2000% more than they usually would.

Alternatively, they can give up the convenience of the city altogether. The cheapest rate still available in the wider vicinity is the Quality Inn in Noblesville. Located about 20 miles from downtown Indianapolis, rooms there are listed at $300 (versus the usual $100).

To score a room for under $150 per night, Indy visitors will have to settle for driving more than an hour outside the city. Although the rates are still being doubled there over the ‘Big Game’ weekend, in Bloomington and Lafayette, such prices are available. And if one wants to avoid super-jacked-up prices altogether? Think a 90-mile radius out from city center. Terre Haute and Richmond, both on that outer circumference, are the closest locales offering rooms at regular prices.

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/colts

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During a powerful storm at the Indiana State Fair on Saturday, the stage collapsed onto the terrified crowd and injured 40 people while killing at least four.

The audience had been waiting for the band Sugarland to perform when the sky darkened and wind conditions, reported by the Indianapolis Star of up to 60mph, forced the steel scaffolding down.

According to the Huffington Post, the collapse came moments after an announcement that warned of the advancing storm. Concertgoers were waiting for Sugarland to take the staged when the announcer gave instructions on what to do if an evacuation was necessary.

But according to reports, the same announcer said concert organizers were hoping the show would go on which is why many fans stayed put.

Video footage show the stage structure falling down in seconds. Eye witnesses explained that the situation went into ‘pure pandemonium’ as people were running for their lives and then running to help those trapped under the wreckage.

“The stage just leaned to the right and crashed down. It felt to me like it was in slow motion. Everyone was scrambling at it was horrifying because you knew people were underneath it,” said one man to the BBC.

Many of the injured were those closest to the stage in the VIP section. Attendees helped security personnel lift the stage to get people out — some dived under the beams to look for badly injured.

Dave Bursten of the Indiana State police told the Huffington Post that the number of injured could rise because some may have taken themselves to the hospital. He added that injuries ranged from minor bruises to “very serious injuries” and that the death tool could rise. Among the casualties was a seven-year-old child.

According to WTHR, dusty wind just before the collapse created panic. Emily Davis, one person at the concert, told the station that it people were “running and going crazy.”

Another witness told Associated Press that the stage scaffolding had ‘wobbled’ before breaking: “You can’t imagine – we just thought it was going to rain or something.”

Mr Bursten also said that emergency crew continued to search the fairground on Sunday in case injured concert-goers has wandered off after the collapse. The fair cancelled all activities for Sunday but will resume Monday with a service to honor the victims.

Sugarland tweeted about the incident shortly after it happened. “We are all right. We are praying for our fans, and the people of Indianapolis. We hope you’ll join us. They need your strength.”

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