Indiana
Everything Indiana Quarterback Kurtis Rourke Said After A 47-10 Victory at Michigan State
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke spoke to the media at Spartan Stadium in the wake of No. 13 Indiana’s 47-10 victory over Michigan State.
Here’s everything Rourke had to say after he helped Indiana achieve its first 9-0 record in school history:
On what Rourke had on his hand …
Rourke: I had a couple of things. I had a splint to cover my nail for prevention of anything bending back. Then I cut off a glove to cover my thumb for extra grip.
On when Rourke felt comfortable with his hand …
Rourke: When I knew that Michigan State might have been a possibility, I tried to think of ways to properly throw and everything. My thumb is pretty swollen and still is so I needed a last little bit of grip. I needed something that was sticky enough that I could play with, but not inhibit throwing the ball as well.
On what he tried throughout the week to get comfortable …
Rourke: I tried a couple of things. Ultimately, it came down to the glove in practice Wednesday through today with it on.
On when he knew he could play …
Rourke: It wasn’t until about Tuesday, Wednesday, I felt good enough to play and had a good plan. Training staff has been awesome in helping me get back. A lot of treatment sessions and everything like that. Being able to progress every day. A bunch of things coming together helped me.
On how much pain Rourke had …
Rourke: I had some things that minimized the pain to start the game. It was definitely sore with every throw, but I knew it was going to come and it was something to play through. You don’t get a chance to play football a lot.
On how honest he had to be with himself about his return …
Rourke: It was every day and multiple times a day being honest with the coaching staff, the trainers, but more important, myself. The biggest thing I wanted to do was not put the team in jeopardy. Obviously, Tayven’s done a great job, he did a great job last week, I knew the team would be in great hands. I wanted to make sure I was at my best to be able to go and help the team before anything else. And then slowly progress and see how I was feeling each day.
How Rourke found his groove …
Rourke: I kind of got a feel for what their plan was for the game. They played good defense on those first two drives. We have some great guys on our offense, we had to settle down and stick to the gameplan.
On when Rourke got hurt …
Rourke: It was a deep-out to E.J. Williams. When I threw it, I hit my hand and my thumb and I hit it on another guy’s hand. It broke on impact. I thought it was a nail because it was bleeding so much. It ended up just being the bone and when it broke it messed (the nail) up. It was a lot of pain, but I’ve played through fingernail issues before. I don’t want to come out kind of thing.
On when Rourke found out he would miss time …
Rourke: It wasn’t until halftime. They took an X-ray. Again, I still thought it was the fingernail because I had never broken anything in my hand before. It wasn’t until that point, though. I thought (the time missed) was going to be longer, but I was really lucky on how it turned out.
On the energy on the team …
Rourke: No. I love the guys. I think this team is really special and we have a lot of fun opportunities ahead of us. I’m proud of the guys. They’re excited and will be excited for the rest of the night and this weekend and I couldn’t be more happy to be a part of the team.
On Indiana’s RPO prowess …
Rourke: It wasn’t something I did a lot of in my career, so reps helped me feel confident about it. Our scheme, as well as how we run our RPOs is really important. Shout out to our coaches for being able to develop and come up with those RPOs to teach it and run it right. I takes a lot of practice to master and get good at. Ever since the spring, I’ve worked on it knowing it can help our team.
On falling behind and facing adversity …
Rourke: It’s great. All sorts of adversity has come up this season. We hadn’t trailed before so it was a good opportunity to show that we don’t have to get down on ourselves. Nothing has to spiral. We just have to be able to get to the gameplan. Trust that we’ll be able to get back in the game and handle our business from there.
On the Amare Ferrell interception in the first half …
Rourke: It’s awesome. Our defense has played really well all season. The last few games they’ve turned the ball over a ton. Having a defense that gives you good field position to start drives is very helpful. I love the way our defense plays.
On being 9-0 …
Rourke: It’s awesome. It’s a great feeling. We’ve prepared for this moment since January, getting to know all the new guys and feeling everything out. We knew we had a special team. It’s just great to see it play out the way it is. Hopefully, we’ll keep rolling.
Indiana
Suspects flee robbery at Chase Bank in Plainfield
PLAINFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Suspects fled a Plainfield bank after it was robbed Tuesday afternoon, police say.
Plainfield Police Department was called at 2:10 p.m. Tuesday to the robbery of a bank in progress at Chase Bank, 807 Southfield Drive. That’s southwest of the intersection of Quaker Boulevard and Stafford Road/East County Road 450 South in the Hendricks County town.
Deputy Chief Ryan Salisbury of the Plainfield Police Department said detectives were working on the case.
The police department posted on social media on Tuesday night that no one was hurt in the robbery, and the suspects, who were not in custody, fled prior to the arrival of first responders.
Indiana
Why Sophie Cunningham turned down multi-year contract offers to return to Indiana Fever
INDIANAPOLIS — Sophie Cunningham wants to emphasize she’s perfectly happy with the Indiana Fever. She just wishes she could be locked down longer.
Cunningham, who signed a one-year, $665,000 deal with the Indiana Fever for 2026, said on her podcast, “Show Me Something,” on Tuesday night that she was frustrated with the free agency process in the condensed offseason.
She shook her head vehemently when her co-host West Wilson asked if the contract was better than she thought it would be, then said in part, “It’s tough because I came off an injury … I’m not even going to lie to you, that’s a little, kind of, frustrating.”
Fans on social media largely took that as she did not get interest from other teams, she didn’t want to return to the Fever, or she was unhappy with the salary she got.
She shut those thoughts down on social media Monday night, then expounded on her frustrations with local media at Fever training camp on Tuesday morning.
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“I think Twitter kind of blew up last night about a comment I made on my podcast. But that wasn’t what I meant at all,” Cunningham said. “I think if you listen to the full clip, you really understand that I just wanted to be somewhere for more than one year. I’m almost 30 years old. I want to have a home. I want to get established. And I would love to get established in a place like Indiana.”
The Fever prioritized as much financial flexibility as possible this offseason because of the new EPIC clause, which allows both Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark to renegotiate their fourth-year salaries up to the max with an extension. Boston’s salary was bumped to $1 million in 2025, and she will make the supermax from 2027-29. Clark is eligible to negotiate up to the max in 2027, and both Clark and Boston could be making the supermax starting in 2028.
Only Lexie Hull and Monique Billings got major multi-year deals with the Fever out of free agency. Hull signed for $765,000 in 2026 and $803,250 in 2027, per Her Hoop Stats, while Billings got $800,000 for both 2026 and 2027. Damiris Dantas is the only other player that got a multi-year deal out of free agency, but that was for the minimum cap hit of $277,500.
Kelsey Mitchell signed a one-year, $1.4 million supermax, Cunningham returned on a one-year deal, and Myisha Hines-Allen and Tyasha Harris each signed one-year deals.
Cunningham added that she got multi-year offers from other teams, but chose to stay with Indiana on a one-year deal.
She wanted to return to Indiana, she said, because of friendships she created with her teammates and the potential they showed, even after six separate season-ending injuries on the roster. She is also closer to her hometown of Columbia, Missouri.
“When you find a group of girls who really make you fall in love with basketball games and you enjoy it, you enjoy them, not only on the court, but off the court, like, you want to hold on to that,” Cunningham said. “ … it was never about the money, it was just about the years, because I wanted to be with them. And God forbid a girl loves her teammates, you know what I mean?”
Cunningham is also coming off a major knee injury after she tore her MCL in August 2025. She was ruled out for the rest of the 2025 season and got surgery in Indianapolis, then had a six-month rehab process before she was cleared in February.
Since then, she has been ramping back up as much as possible, including playing one-on-one, three-on-three, plyometrics, and everything she does to get ready for a regular season.
Still, she said, she’ll need to actually play to get back into full basketball shape.
“Basketball shape is just different,” Cunningham said. “You can run as many suicides as you want, you can get your butt kicked however you want, but until you’re out here playing, you’re never fully going to be in game shape until you’re playing games.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
Indiana
Indiana police find semi trailer loaded up with nearly 400 pounds of cocaine: troopers
CLOVERDALE, Ind. (WKRC) – Authorities in Indiana found a semi trailer loaded up with hundreds of pounds of suspected cocaine.
According to a statement issued by the Indiana State Police (ISP), 27-year-old Harmandeep Singh of Bakersfield, California was taken into custody after nearly 400 pounds of suspected cocaine were reportedly found in the trailer of a commercial truck.
Per the statement, an ISP trooper seized the suspected cocaine during a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Putnam County, authorities said.
The stop occurred Tuesday morning near the 37-mile marker, just east of Cloverdale, after a commercial motor vehicle was observed exceeding the posted speed limit.
Police said Singh displayed several indicators of possible criminal activity during the encounter. After obtaining consent to search the vehicle, troopers discovered multiple duffel bags and cardboard boxes in the trailer containing approximately 392 pounds (178 kilograms) of suspected cocaine.
Authorities estimated the street value of the drugs at about $9 million.
Singh was taken into custody and taken to the Putnam County Jail, where he is being held on a $30,000 cash bond.
He faces the following preliminary charges, per the post:
- Possession of a narcotic drug
Formal charges will be determined by the Putnam County prosecutor.
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Indiana State Police said drug interdiction remains a priority, with troopers focusing on major highways to disrupt the flow of illegal narcotics into the state.
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