Roller Coaster Year
Following a WNBA Title in 2012, the Indiana Fever Are Fighting Just to Make the ’13 Playoffs
On June 14, the Indiana Fever had the honor of visiting the White House in commemoration of their WNBA title last season. They were being honored as champions—and rightfully so after their 3-1 series victory over the back-to-back Western Conference champion Minnesota Lynx in October—but weren’t exactly playing like ones. As the Fever prepared to meet President Obama and his family, they came in with a 1-4 record and four straight losses, three of which came at home.
Two days later, Indiana was outplayed by the Washington Mystics in the final quarter and lost by four points. They hit rock bottom after losing two more games and falling to 1-7.
The Fever have been ravaged by injuries throughout the entire 2013 campaign. During their second game, Katie Douglas went down with a bulging disk in her back and has been sidelined ever since. To put Douglas’ absence in perspective, she had been one of Indiana’s top-two scorers in each of the team’s previous five seasons, dating back to ‘08. In each season, she never missed more than three games; to date, she’s missed 23 of her team’s 25 games. Read more >>
Jon Sutherland Can't Stop Running
Jon Sutherland boasts the longest active running streak in the United States, dating back to May 26, 1969. He has an amazing memory, but the detailed records he keeps are even more impressive.
On Oct. 10, 1972, Sutherland was “reading a lot of Nietzche” in Philosophy class, had just gotten tickets to see David Bowie, and of course ran a great deal. In the morning, he ran with his dog, Kumere. In the evening, his cross country coach, Laszlo Tabori, ran the team all over the grass track. Somehow, Sutherland did the entire workout barefoot. His daily mileage totaled 20.
The 62-year-old keeps a three-inch binder for every year dating back to 1968. “If you called me up and asked me, ‘Hey Jon. What’d you do on June 2, 1976?’ it would only take me about a minute,” said Sutherland.
There are two journals: an all-inclusive life journal and a running-specific one that looks more like a grid. According to Sutherland, he can fit an entire month on each page.
The running grows more difficult by the year. As Sutherland noted in his Aug. 11, 2013 entry, “I have a lot of physical issues now that have come on in the past couple of years.” After listing all his current ailments, Sutherland ultimately concludes, “Still I keep running, because I love it dammit!”
On Aug. 11, four miles with his dog, Puck, was all he could muster. At one point, a young mother flew past them in a baby jogger. “Has it really come to that?” Sutherland rhetorically asked in his journal. Read more >>