INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark are the talk of the town in Indianapolis, and that extends to the NBA team they share an area with.

The Indiana Pacers also call Gainbridge Fieldhouse home. Both teams showed tremendous growth in 2024 — the Pacers reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in a decade while the Fever earned a postseason spot — somewhere they haven’t been since 2016. Basketball is ascending in the Circle City.

Both groups support each other. Many Fever players attended Pacers playoff games in the spring, and several Pacers players were courtside for Fever action in the fall. Clark was on her Rookie of the Year run with the likes of Tyrese Haliburton, Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith, Rick Carlisle, and Myles Turner watching.

Last week, Clark and the Fever were eliminated from the playoffs. They fell 0-2 to the Connecticut Sun, and Game 2 came down to the wire. Their season ended earlier than they hoped.

Now, it’s time for the Pacers to take center stage. With the blue and gold holding media day on Monday, some members of the team shared their thoughts on the Fever’s season and success.

“What the Fever did this year, that was incredible. As someone who’s been going to Fever games for the past 10 years now, just the environment that was in there, the new life that was in there, was incredible,” Turner said. “And something that’s only going to grow. For a team that wasn’t even in contention for the playoffs to come through and get to that first round and have that experience with three younger players was fun to watch.”

The Fever went 20-20 — they won 30 games the prior four seasons combined. They are on a massive upward trajectory and have the foundation set for a long era of sustained success.

Haliburton went to roughly half of the Fever’s home games this season. He’s seen Clark and company up close often. “I went to a ton because I just love hoop. To see the explosion of Women’s Basketball for a big piece of that… was really cool to see. I went to as many games as I could,” Haliburton shared. He noted that through Connnor McCaffery, a former Pacers assistant who is now at Butler and dates Clark, he grew closer to the Fever’s star. They have a group text together. “It’s been really cool to see her growth this last year, and the Fever as a whole… It’s unfortunate that they lost, but they’re a young group. They’ll be back.”

Carlisle was asked about Clark and the Fever during a recent interview with Steve Aschburner of NBA.com. “I’m a big fan,” he said of the team. “Every arena they go into is an energized happening. It’s really cool.”

He added more on Clark. “Tyrese [Haliburton] always is (courtside at Fever home games). She’s come to some of ours. She’s been a great ambassador for our city,” Carlisle said. “Caitlin has had a great year. Angel Reese [had] a great year. You can make a case that them coming into the WNBA is a little like Bird and Magic coming in in 1979. The NBA took off with those guys entering the league the way the WNBA is taking off with those two players.”

More on the Fever can be found here.

A death investigation in northwest Indiana took a horrifying turn on Tuesday after officials revealed they were looking into the possible murder of two undocumented children.

Multiple agencies, including the Jasper County Coroner’s Office and the Indiana State Police, are assisting the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation, which is centered around a property in Wheatfield.

Warning: What follows may be disturbing to some readers.

According to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, a call was received on Sept. 20 after an individual allegedly confessed to acquaintances about killing two undocumented children and burning their bodies in the backyard of their residence.

Detectives immediately launched an investigation, and interviewed multiple individuals at a Newton County hotel, seizing their cell phones.

Detectives located additional evidence on the mobile devices, and a child that was in the care of the individuals was placed into protective custody.

Officials then launched a widescale search on a property in Wheatfield, locating three separate locations on the property where partial bone fragments were found, according to authorities.

“I seen a coroner putting up caution tape, and CSI vans, and a lot of digging,” neighbor Monica Prentice said.  

Those bone fragments are now in the custody of a specialist in Indianapolis, who is working to determine if they were from an infant or an animal, according to officials.

Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to call the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office at 219-866-7334.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For the first time since the 2021 season, five former Indiana baseball players played at least one game for a Major League Baseball team in 2024.

Two of them are pegged to be significant contributors for their clubs as the baseball playoffs begin.

The playoffs start on Tuesday, but Indiana’s two expected playoff contributors won’t begin until the Divisional Series round as their teams received byes as one of the top two division champions in the their respective leagues.

One former Indiana standout is familiar. Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber had one of his finest seasons in 2024.

Schwarber hit 38 home runs, had 104 RBI and hit .248 for the Phillies, taking part in 150 games for the NL East champions.

While he crested the 40-home run mark in both 2022 and 2023 for the Phillies, Schwarber’s .248 batting average was his best since he hit .266 while splitting the 2021 season between the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox.

Schwarber had a career-high 3.5 WAR by baseball-reference.com’s definition of the advanced statistic. His previous best was a 2.3 for the Chicago Cubs in 2019 and the Phillies in 2022.

In addition to his on-field exploits, Schwarber is the Phillies’ nominee to win the coveted Roberto Clemente Award.

Schwarber has been stronger in the playoffs than he typically is in the regular season. His career playoff batting average is .245, 15 points better than his regular season career average. Schwarber hit 5 home runs in 7 games for the Phillies in their 2023 NLCS series against Arizona.

He also hit 6 home runs in Philadelphia’s 2022 World Series championship run. Schwarber also hit 5 home runs as a rookie in 2015 during the Chicago Cubs’ playoff journey.

Schwarber, a Middletown, Ohio native, played at Indiana from 2012-14, helping the Hoosiers reach the College World Series in 2013.

The Phillies will start their playoff run on Saturday as they will host the winner of the Milwaukee Brewers-New York Mets Wild Card Series. That NLDS series will be televised on Fox or FS1.

Another former Hoosier who will have an important postseason role is Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Tim Herrin.

Herrin had a breakout season for the Guardians. Part of the best bullpen in baseball with a 2.57 ERA, Herrin was lights out. He had an ERA of 1.95 in 75 appearances for Cleveland. His WHIP (walks and hits divided by innings pitched) was an outstanding 0.975. Herrin struck out 68 batters in 65 2/3 innings.

Herrin was at the front end of the Guardians’ bullpen as he usually entered the game in the sixth or seventh inning. Herrin had 16 holds for the Guards.

Herrin, a Terre Haute, Ind. native, is in his second season at the Major League level. He improved dramatically from his rookie campaign in 2023 when he had a 5.53 ERA in 23 appearances.

Herrin pitched for Indiana from 2016-18. He had a career ERA of 3.44 for the Hoosiers.

The Guardians begin their American League playoff journey on Saturday as they host the winner of the Detroit Tigers-Houston Astros Wild Card Series. That ALDS series will be televised on TBS.

One other former Hoosier, pitcher Scott Effross, pitched for the New York Yankees in 2024. He appeared in three games, most recently in a Friday contest against Pittsburgh. Effross is a long shot to make the Yankees’ postseason roster. The Yankees begin their ALDS series against either Baltimore or Kansas City on Saturday. Effross played for the Hoosiers from 2013-15.

Two other former Hoosiers who played in 2024 won’t take part in the postseason.

Pitcher Tanner Gordon made eight starts for the Colorado Rockies in 2024. He finished with an 0-8 record and an 8.65 ERA for a 101-loss Rockies team. Gordon played at Indiana in 2019.

Andrew Saalfrank, who played at Indiana from 2017-19, made 2 appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks were eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the season, but Saalfrank wouldn’t have played a part anyway. He was banned by Major League Baseball in June for a year for violating MLB’s sports gambling rules.