IC Cold Indy: Appreciating Nine Strong

It is cold, people. Single-digit cold. And the wind makes it simply unbearable. It started last night and for some reason I found myself tromping around downtown, turning a corner and getting knocked senseless by the cold wind.

I went to the Fieldhouse to watch Purdue play Davidson and more importantly to check out scorer extraordinaire, Stephen Curry. But Purdue can apply some intense on-ball pressure and they made Curry look quite ordinary by extending that  pressure on Curry for all 94 feet. He actually handled the ball quite well, but didn't have much left for shooting and only scored 13 points in the Boiler blowout. Curry needs some help because it appears the team is trying to use him as a point guard and shooting guard at the same time.

Also, while at the Fieldhouse, Cornrows, Jr. picked up a few All-Star ballots much to T.J. Ford's delight. On the way out after the game, he wanted a couple more but the displays were empty. My wife looked for a few at the Guest Relations desk and Greg from Guest Relations took it from there. With a pleasant demeanor, Greg went beyond the call of duty to track down the ballots for my son. I can't thank him enough and hopefully someone at the Fieldhouse will give him a pat on the back.

Greg certainly set the tone for a positive night as the Pacers found a way to warm up the evening with their unlikely win over Philly. Here's a late link roundup:

• Here is Bruno's LIVE blog final where his comments evolve from resigned disappointment to considering the unthinkable to appreciating the shocking W. What comes around goes around.

  Remember how badly that first game against the Sixers felt, when the Pacers blew a 26-point lead at home?
  
  Now, they're even.

• Mike Wells praises the Pacers for the pleasant surprise they delivered on the road.
• Wells has more great stuff in his Pacers Insider post, including his efforts to avoid whatever nasty virus is running through the Pacers' locker room. Also, a little McBob love, playing hard, the Diener effect and another opponent puts up a triple-double.
• Pacers Notebook lauds the contributions off the bench of Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and Travis Diener and checks in with Kareem and Brandon Rush.

  "I thought Josh played a really hard game and did a lot of positive things," coach Jim O'Brien said. "I thought Travis, he's a little ill himself, the 15 minutes and the points he scored, especially in the first half, kept us in the basketball game. A lot of guys did a lot of positive things."

• Tom Ziller over at the NBA Fanhouse wonders if the Pacers are using the flu as a team-building exercise.
• Phil Jasner finds the Sixers caught in a trap looking at all the missing Pacers.
• Kate Fagan reports on the Sixers letting one get away heading into a tough six game roadie.