Indianapolis, IN
Marvin Harrison Jr. turns heads during joint practice in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS — Arizona Cardinals rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. has quite a few memories of Indianapolis growing up. Having a father who played 13 years for the Colts will do that to you.
But while the young Harrison admits some memories are a bit fuzzy from his time in Indy, the ones he made during Day 1 of joint practice in Indianapolis were anything but.
Harrison didn’t take long to make his presence felt on Wednesday. After drawing a pass interference call up against cornerback Dallis Flowers during 1-on-1 drills, the No. 4 overall pick had fans in the stands in awe.
Marvin Harrison Jr. just shook Kenny Moore II out of the frame during 1-on-1s. #AZCardinals #Colts pic.twitter.com/FuCun9fgd2
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) August 14, 2024
Come for the catch, stay for the route-running.
Harrison wasn’t just wowing the spattering of Cardinals fans in attendance, either.
At one point during the practice, a young fan was overheard as he walked away from the practice field where the Colts’ first-team offense was operating saying he’d rather watch Arizona strictly because of Harrison.
Harrison wasn’t the only Cardinals wideout handing it to the Colts defense, though.
Greg Dortch continued to do Greg Dortch things, burning defenders in the middle of the field. Michael Wilson remained consistent throughout practice.
The first-team offense as a whole had its ups and downs, though.
After starting off strong, the offense struggled to put a bow on Day 1 of joint work behind a botched snap, a few penalties and a sack on quarterback Kyler Murray deep in their own territory during team drills.
For Murray, these two days of practices mark his only action against another team ahead of the regular season after it was decided he would not suit up for any of Arizona’s preseason games.
But at the end of the day, Arizona’s offense put a lot of good on the tape, knowing there’s still plenty of work to be done in the Crossroads of America.
“It was good. High energy. I feel like the guys are ready,” wide receiver Zay Jones said post-practice. “There’s a lot of stuff we need to be better at, but overall, it feels great to come out and compete against a good football team and it’s great for the experience.”
Owen Pappoe keeps stacking days
The Cardinals offense had its moments throughout Wednesday’s work.
The same can equally be said for the Colts, who had Arizona’s secondary huffing for a good portion of the practice.
While there were groans on one side of the practice fields — where Cardinals receivers were taking it to Colts defenders — it was the complete opposite on the other.
The 6-foot-4 Michael Pittman Jr. was a big reason for that. Much like Harrison, Pittman quickly asserted his presence during 1-on-1 drills before kicking it up a notch in team drills.
One of the final plays of 11-on-11s, a deep touchdown over cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, was the exclamation mark on his evening.
But while there’s plenty for Arizona’s secondary to clean up heading into Day 2, there were some positives elsewhere, most notably in the inside linebackers room.
Second-year pro and inside linebacker Owen Pappoe picked up where he left off from in Saturday’s 16-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Snagged by @TheFreak pic.twitter.com/kVT83uKUpK
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) August 15, 2024
Proving effective against the Colts’ second-team offense, Pappoe made easy work of a forced throw by Joe Flacco, snagging the interception and finishing things off with a jaunt to the end zone for the pick-6.
“It was cool. I tried to bait him a little bit. He didn’t even see me coming. I had a really good break and took it to the crib. It felt really good, especially it being Joe Flacco.”
“It feels great. I’ve been working with my DBs trainer. The exact way that I just got that pick right now, we run that drill all the time,” he added. “I gotta send a clip to him. He’s going to be real happy about that one. It feels great seeing the hard work pay off.”
Pappoe, who many around the team believe has taken a big step forward, continues to stack days this offseason and is seriously making a case for added playing time in 2024 behind Kyzir White and Mack Wilson Sr.
“Just feels great seeing the hard work pay off.” https://t.co/hVkhF0Au0G pic.twitter.com/JzfWvV37xm
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) August 15, 2024
No fighting
Head coach Jonathan Gannon was confident there would be no fighting ahead of Wednesday’s action.
Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon remains confident there will be no fighting throughout joint practice work with the Colts. pic.twitter.com/MusxzOLufH
— Tyler Drake (@Tdrake4sports) August 14, 2024
He was onto something, as nothing appeared even close to a disagreement between the two sides.
There’s always tomorrow, though.
Emari Demercado, others back
After missing some time with a shoulder issue, running back Emari Demercado was back practicing on Wednesday.
He returned to his first-team role directly behind James Conner.
Also back practicing were cornerback Garrett Williams and defensive lineman Justin Jones.
Up next
The Cardinals take on the Colts for another round of joint practice on Thursday before meeting at Lucas Oil Stadium for Saturday’s preseason game.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce has experienced what it’s like to ride in an IndyCar two-seater.
He took a ride in the Fastest Seat in Sports ahead of the 2025 Sonsio Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.
This past Sunday, he rode in the Fastest Seat in Sports again. But this time, the two-seater reached higher speeds as it screamed around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval ahead of the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
“Incredible experience,” Pierce said. “I’ll never forget that. So cool… At the end there, with the helicopters, that was pretty cool.”
Pierce added that when he was in the car going around the track, he was able to truly realize just how many people were inside IMS. Keep in mind, Sunday’s race was a grandstand sellout and more than 350,000 fans were thought to have been inside the facility.
“You really can see how many… hundreds of thousands of people of people out here,” Pierce said.
Andrew Chernoff, WISH-TV and WRTV 6 weekend sports anchor/reporter, asked Pierce how the Indy 500 ride in the two-seater compared to the once Pierce took ahead of the Sonsio Grand Prix.
“The Grand Prix I didn’t know what I was signing up for,” Pierce said. “That was a little bit more like the racing itself. The driving in the car was crazy because it was all those turns and this was cool. This was we were just going super fast. This was more just cool to see everybody out there and just be on the track and be a part of such a special event.”
Pierce just wrapped up his fourth season in the NFL.
This past year was arguably the best year of his career. He finished with 47 receptions for 1,003 yards. Pierce also hauled in six touchdowns.
He signed a new, four-year contract with the Colts back in March.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2022 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Jimmie Johnson drove the two-seater that Pierce experienced this weekend.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Hundreds of fitness enthusiasts started Memorial Day with a climb.
The Hill 317 kicked off its 16-week season Monday morning after a last-minute venue change to Paul Ruster Park. The event was initially set for Lawrence but moved due to safety issues, organizers said.
“Once police officers realized this was a health event, and no weapons, alcohol, or drugs were involved, they didn’t see a reason to stop people from working out together.”
Brandon Beasley, who founded The Hill 317 in 2019, said the turnout shows how the group has grown from a small running club into a citywide movement.
“I created this health event in 2019, and it’s been going ever since,” Beasley said. “I decided to run the hill, asked people to run with me, and the next thing you know, we have 3-4-500 people.”
‘It’s really your level’
The two-hour sessions include running, walking, or pacing up the hill, followed by a halftime break for calisthenics like squats, push-ups, and jumping jacks. Refreshments and a DJ round out the workout.
“It’s really your level,” Beasley said. “If you can walk up the hill, you can walk up the hill. If you can push yourself to run up the hill, flip up the hill, crawl up the hill, go backwards — whatever you need to do to push yourself to exercise — then we take a halftime break to do calisthenics.”
People of all ages joined Monday’s session. Organizers said even a baby in a stroller made it to the top.
‘No competition. We’re pushing each other’
Mollie Lindeman, softball coach at Cardinal Ritter and a longtime participant, said the community focus keeps her coming back.
“This is amazing,” Lindeman said. “There are so many people here for our first hill of the season. I love to see everyone out here getting up and running today, after or before they eat some Memorial Day food. This is really a great turnout. It’s awesome.”
Lindeman said the group’s supportive environment stands out.
“I am the softball coach at Cardinal Ritter, but I love the community aspect of this,” she said. “Everybody here is together. There’s no competition. We’re pushing each other. You can meet people here and connect with people.”
Free workouts run through summer
The Hill 317 will meet every Monday and Thursday for the next 16 weeks. Sessions are free and open to all fitness levels.
Organizers said the program focuses on building healthier lifestyles through group accountability and encouragement.
Registration and location updates are available online.
If anyone wants to help sponsor the community event, contact info@thehill317.com.
INDIANAPOLIS – Josef Newgarden exited Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 76 laps early after spinning into the outside wall in Turn 4 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; and a day later, Newgarden was in a walking boot.
Newgarden was seen and released from the IMS infield medical unit after the crash, although he didn’t do IndyCar’s procedural media interviews afterward. At Monday evening’s Indy 500 Victory Celebration, the two-time Indy 500 champion had a boot on his left foot on the red carpet. Newgarden claimed he will race in this weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix, and he said the boot will stay on “until the cosmetics are complete.”
“It’s just a big hit — big whip, I think was the big thing about it,” Newgarden said. “So, just the nature of the angle of it, more than anything.”
Newgarden finished 28th in the race after appearing to have race pace worthy of competing for the win. He was fourth heading into the restart before losing control of his No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet.
“It’s a tough mistake,” Newgarden said. “You touch that curbing and it happens quick. I mean, I didn’t even realize I made a mistake until I was sideways, and the next thing you know, you’re in the wall. Some mistakes you can see them coming and you can counteract them. That one, unfortunately, I didn’t know until it was too late.
“It was my fault. I lost my sight line, and you can’t be touching that curb.”
After winning back-to-back Indy 500s in 2023 and 2024, Newgarden has exited the last two races early. Last year, it was a fuel pressure problem that ended Newgarden’s day. Newgarden, who made last-lap passes to win both of his Indy 500s, had to watch from outside the cockpit as Felix Rosenqvist passed Marcus Armstrong and David Malukas for the win in the closest finish the race has ever seen.
“I just wish I was in the fight at the end. It looked fun,” he said. “They had a great race going, and it would’ve been amazing to be a part of that.”
Zion Brown is IndyStar’s motorsports reporter. Follow him at @z10nbr0wn. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to the YouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
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