It’s December 25th 1999, but this Christmas Day was a little different than most for me. On second thought, it was different for everyone, because in a few days the world would be experiencing and moving into a new millennium. Honestly, that was an after thought in my mind. The only present I wanted couldn’t fit under a tree. I had one thing and one thing only on my mind. Beating the Michigan State basketball team!! I physically couldn’t be still for anything leading up to th

Sweat dripping down my face. Bone-chilling weather. Packed stands. This was the atmosphere of our semi-state match last year against Homestead and one of my favorite memories from my high school tennis career. nWe were down 0-2 after losing both doubles and the pressure was on singles. Maurquis dropped the first set and Homestead was looking like the favorite to reach the state finals. I was able to play a solid match and come out with a win at 2 singles over a very strong op

I used to play basketball at the University of Maryland… And by play, I mean I was the kid at the end of the bench with no regard for life. After an 80 minute warm-up, some dunk attempts, a whole lot of trey balls and then sitting for 2 hours watching - it is tougher than you think to go in and play the last 4 minutes of the game. Right around the 12 minute mark in the second half, the “Put in Tuh-Rell” chants start up in the crowd (and it’s not Tuh-Rell by the way, people...

From heartbreaking, match point-missed opportunities against arch rivals, to ecstatic come-from-behind record-setting victories, there was no shortage of roller coaster emotions that accompanied growing up as a die-hard Roger Federer fan over the past couple decades. In the Kumar household, waking up at 3am for Australian Open finals was expected when Roger was competing, as was yelling at the TV when he shanked a seemingly short backhand on a big point. I’ll never forget the

June 2, 2018 The morning of what would be HSE’s first ever appearance in the Indiana High School Lacrosse State Championship. I was watching Scarface on my couch when I heard my phone ring from the bathroom. It was my Co-Captain Nick Riina, calling me to inform me that I was a half an hour late to the morning film session. I grabbed my bags, packed up my car, and headed over to the high school. I walked into the locker room to stares of disapproval from my teammates and coach

Growing up in Indianapolis was all I knew. From the age of 4 when I first picked up a basketball, sports became my canvas for expression with Indianapolis as my studio. How does a kid’s dream fit into the parameters that society has placed on you? His name is Jesus Christ. He was, is and always will be the conductor of my life. He is who I point to first because He comes before anything or anyone else. It was growing up in the church when I learned that my parents became stew

I grew up in Richmond, Indiana, a small town east of Indianapolis. I come from a big sports family. My siblings and cousin played baseball and softball so I spent a lot of time at the ball parks. I knew after watching them I wanted to follow in their footsteps. I got my start when my mom enrolled me in tee ball at the age of five. I was the only girl on my team. In my first year of tee ball I hit a homerun and knew this was the sport for me. I then started playing in a rec le

I grew up in a household where sports were played constantly. My siblings and I began to play sports as soon as we were able to run around. We all participated in The Catholic Youth Organization sports for our grade school, Immaculate Heart of Mary. My parents both played division I college tennis; my mom played at Miami of Ohio and my dad played at University of Texas and later on played professionally. I began to start taking tennis the most serious by the time I was in 5th

Throughout childhood, kids have the opportunity to play whatever sport they can dream of. Whether it be soccer, tennis, gymnastics, track, or anything else, the options were endless. For me, this was no different, I played soccer, ran the 1600-meter run in track, participated in cross country, and of course, played basketball. However, out of all the sports that I chose to participate in, none of them drew my interest quite like basketball did. The feeling of peace, excitemen

Indianapolis Cathedral and Bishop Chatard have two of the most successful high school football programs in the state of Indiana. Cathedral is the winningest football program in Indiana with 741 total wins. Chatard has won the most state championships in Indiana with 13, and Cathedral has won the second most with 12. When I was a kid, my family and I attended many Cathedral and Bishop Chatard sporting events and we weren’t quite sure which of the two high schools my siblings a

God Bless Goodwill and God Bless that Couch.  I always find it funny that my favorite high school sports memory came as a spectator and a fan rather than as a player. You see, I attended Guerin Catholic high school, played four years of varsity tennis, and loved every second of it. There’s a certain atmosphere at a small school that only those who experienced it can truly understand. For a school of barely 800 students, we usually managed a respectable student section at spor

Before you get too far, I want to warn you: I am not an athlete. I am not an athlete, but I’ve spent the last four years pouring over statistics, watching film, attending press conferences and interviewing coaches and athletes. In college, I got paid to talk about some of the most exciting games from the best seat in the house – the sidelines. As a sideline reporter for the Big Ten Network through a partnership with the network and Big Ten schools, I’ve had the honor of cover

Generally, I feel like I can’t consider myself an athlete anymore. And as self-deprecating as that sounds, I’m really as washed up as they come. I can barely run a 10-minute mile without feeling like my lungs are bleeding. If someone ever brings up soccer, I always talk about how good I was, and how great I could have been. I always catch myself getting a little embarrassed about how bitter I am about it. It’s something I’m working on. Writing this has helped me realize the s

Chapter 1: The Decision SMACK as I heard my softball coach’s hand hit the table near my head at study tables.  “Wake up Morgan. You have some work to do.” My coach, David Cook at Hamilton Southeastern, monitored the athletes who received a D or below on their report card, early before school began.  I picked my head up so I can try to concentrate on what I was studying in front of me.  My eyes were weary, and my body felt too relaxed in my chair.  Trying not to doze off agai

I'd like to thank Steven Christie for setting up this page. I genuinely believe Naptown Notorious will continue to grow and spread the stories of the incredible athletes produced by Indianapolis. Writing this was one of the hardest things ever, but the memories it brought back, and the closure it came with made it worth it. Growing up, my parents encouraged and supported me to play every sport I ever wanted. I remember playing soccer, basketball, swimming, football, track, an

Background: 2009 and 2010 were two of the best years of my life – my junior and senior year of high school. I remember back in 2008 when my high school teammate, Michael Farley, and I were chatting on AIM after school one day. Yes. AIM. The good old days. Michael Farley was a year older than me who ended up becoming an HSE doubles legend with Max Crouse. Look them up. They went 25-0 at #2 doubles and dropped just 11 games the entire 2009 regular season. Anyways, Michael and I

Frustration, Anger, Confusion, Sadness, and lots of questions continue to circulate through my mind as I think about the recent events unfolding across our nation.  These events are nothing new to me personally.  I am a Black man that has experienced oppression and racism on many fronts, and at times without much support from people outside of my family and close friends.  The killings and treatment of people in the Black community are tragic, dehumanizing, and violate the hu

Before I get into everything, I want to thank Steven for starting Naptown’s Notorious and giving people from Indy a platform to share their thoughts and experiences. I might be the least athletically accomplished athlete to write on this website, and you might not care about or agree with what I have to say. I just hope my unique perspective on the current climate of America will transcend sport and provoke some deep thought for whomever decides to read it. Thank you for the

I have always loved baseball. I think it’s the team aspect of the game that appeals to me most. You workout all fall and winter to prepare for a condensed two or three month season, depending on how the team does in the state tournament. I went to Brebeuf Jesuit, which was not known for having a great baseball program. We weren’t terrible, we were mostly average. Most years we won more than we lost, but we never went very far in the state tournament.   As we prepared for my j

"Paul Loggan was a pillar in the Indianapolis community. He taught, coached, served as an assistant athletic director and athletic director for 33 years at North Central High School. Paul loved his job but more than his job he loved his student athletes. Nothing made him happier than to watch his Panthers compete. He always believed in his student athletes both on and off the field. He was fortunate enough to have 14 different players compete in bowl games, 4 players in the N