The Pacers’ Answer: The Rifleman

Forget the Raptors’ coach Sam Mitchell. Forget the Suns’ assistant coach Marc Iavaroni. Forget former Portland and Sacramento coach Rick Adelman.

There is one clear-cut answer that will not only lead the Pacers to new heights, but will hold the players accountable for their on-and-off courts actions and will get the city of Indianapolis excited about the Pacers once again.

The answer: The Rifleman, Chuck Person.

Person was drafted fourth overall by the Pacers in 1986 and played in Indianapolis until 1992.

After stints with Minnesota, San Antonio, Charlotte and Seattle, Person retired in 2000 to pursue a career in coaching.

He landed in Indianapolis – first as a team consultant – and was eventually hired by team president Larry Bird to be an assistant coach for Rick Carlisle.

After Carlisle’s firing, Mitchell and Iavaroni’s names have emerged as the front-runners, but the Pacers should take a hard look at Person if they want a team this city can re-embrace.

During Person’s stint as a Pacer, he brought excitement, enthusiasm, unpredictability and leadership, which are qualities the Pacers lacked under the Carlisle regime.

Person has no head coaching experience, but neither did Larry Bird before he guided the Pacers to three of the most successful seasons in the franchise’s history, which culminated with a loss to the Lakers in the NBA Finals in 2000.

Person’s inexperience would be his biggest downfall, but just like President George W. Bush, he would need to be surrounded by wise minds in order to succeed.

Among his best qualities is familiarity.

He is familiar with the city. He played and coached here for a combined eight years. He understands the expectations of the fans. Having lived in Indianapolis during the Colts’ run to the Super Bowl, he knows how this city will embrace a team after multiple disappointing seasons.

Can Person guide the Pacers to prominence and a return to the glory years of the last ‘90s?

Yes, he can.

Person is also familiar with the organization. After playing and coaching here, he understands the expectations of Mel and Herb Simon (owners), Donnie Walsh (CEO) and Larry Bird (club president). If the foursome of the Simons, Walsh and Bird want to keep the head coaching position “in-house,” they should look no further than the man who has sat on the bench as both coach and player.

Finally, Person is familiar with the team. He understands their strengths and weaknesses. He understands their talents and routines. Perhaps Person can transform Jamaal Tinsley from the troublesome, often-injured point guard into the star and leader he was at Iowa State where he earned Big-12 Player of the Year in 2001.

So, what exactly are the chances of Chuck “The Rifleman” Person as Carlisle’s replacement?

100 to 1? 50 to 1?

I think the odds are better than fans may think. The Pacers are always good for a shocker. Bringing in Larry Bird as head coach. Trading away Dale Davis for a then-unknown Jermaine O’Neal. Hiring Isiah Thomas as head coach.

The Pacers like to follow their own routine and refuse to follow the beaten path.

Realistically, I would put the odds of Person as the next Pacers coach at 5 to 1.

He has the hometown knowledge. He has the charisma. He has the attitude. He has the perseverance.

He is an assistant coach on the rise and the Pacers need to snatch him up before they make another mistake as they did with trading away Antonio Davis for Jonathan Bender.

Hiring Mitchell, Iavaroni, or Adelman would not be a bad decision, but hiring Person would be the right decision.

Person is the answer to all the Pacers’ questions.

Indy 500's Promises, Possibilities and Probabilities

With the 91st running of the Indianapolis 500 a mere 20 days away, it is not too early to discuss the possibilities and probabilities that will occur between now and race day.

Obviously, the new media target will be Milka Duno, the sports car driver who is making her Indy debut. She has next to zero open-wheel experience – she finished 14th place at her inaugural event in Kansas City – but she will still demand attention simply because she is a woman with the looks of a swimsuit model.

Duno drives for SAMAX Motorsports, whom she helped finish second at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January.

Duno is in no way inexperienced when it comes to auto racing, but will she be a contender come race day?

No.

Unlike Danica Patrick’s amazing rookie season in 2005 when she came up four laps short of winning the Indy 500, Duno has not driven the entire race schedule thus far. She has one race. She started dead last and moved up to finish 14th with the help of attrition. She is not familiar with this track, nor is she familiar with her fellow drivers.

Assuming Duno qualifies for her first Indy 500, I cannot see her staying on the lead lap for more than 10 laps.

Or….

She could have a decent qualifying run and with the help of a few breaks and a solid pit stop strategy, she could be battling Ganassi, Penske and AGR for the lead in the closing laps.

But I have a better chance at winning the Presidential Democratic Nomination than Duno does of winning or even competing in the 500.

But, that is what makes the Indy 500 the spectacle it is: anything can happen.

Now, to the most important question of the month – not necessarily who will win the race, but will it be a Penske, Ganassi or AGR driver that will be sipping milk in victory lane?

Will Helio climb the fence for the third time? Will Weldon regroup from last year’s disappointing fourth place finish after leading a race-high 148 laps to capture his second victory in three years? What about the defending champion, Sam Hornish? Despite a subpar start to the IRL season, Hornish will be a factor on Memorial Day weekend because of the name on his car – Penske.
Or, will the winner come from the Andretti-Green Racing stable? Can Tony Kanaan shake off many Indy 500 disappointments and win the second Borg Warner Trophy for car owner Michael Andretti.

Speaking of Andretti, can he overcome last year’s third-place finish and win the one race that has eluded his career?

Do not count out Marco – last year’s runner-up – who had the race won until the final straightaway. If Marco is in the same situation this year, I guarantee he will not make the same mistake twice.

Throw in Ganassi’s Scott Dixon and AGR’s Dario Franchitti, and I would be stunned if the winner does not emerge from the aforementioned group.

But, as mentioned earlier, that is what makes the Indy 500 so special and suspenseful. A few mishaps by the big dogs and a couple odd-ball strategies from some smaller teams and Scott Sharp or Ed Carpenter could shock the world.

That is why they call it the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Indy 500 Just Around the Corner

With the racing season officially underway after Kevin Harvick’s Daytona 500 win, it is time to start counting down the days until the 2007 Indianapolis 500 (92 days).

It will be hard for this year’s race to live up to last year’s spectacle when Sam Hornish nipped Marco Andretti at the finish line as the elder Andretti, Michael, watched from a close third place.

Last year’s race created a buzz that should increase momentum the 500 generated before the near-fatal split of 1996.

Roger Penske won his 14th Indy 500 as a car owner when Hornish won his first Indy 500. Michael Andretti was leading the race with 3 laps to go, only to relinquish the race lead to his son, Marco, who failed to hold off Hornish on the final straightaway.

All of those stories will headline this year’s race, along with a few new ones.

Helio Castroneves, a 2-time winner, is always a threat on Memorial Day weekend. Despite his crash with 2004 winner Buddy Rice, he will be a favorite to tie Louis Meyer, Johnny Rutherford, Wilbur Shaw and Bobby Unser with three likenesses on the Borg Warner Trophy.

Danica-mania has slowed since her remarkable fourth-place finish in the 2005 Indy 500, but that should pick up as the IRL season officially kicks off March 24 from Homestead when Danica Patrick begins her first season with Andretti-Green Racing.

Patrick will have plenty of experience and resources as she will team with last year’s runner-up Marco Andretti, 2004 runner-up Tony Kanaan, and former front-row starter Dario Franchitti.

And don’t forget about the elder Andretti, who will lace up his driving suit once again and tackle the race that has eluded him 15 times.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s tandem of 2005 Indy 500 champ Dan Weldon and Scott Dixon hope to regain the dominant form of last year when they led for a combined 154 of the 200 laps.

Weldon had the entire field covered midway through the race, but luck was not with Ganassi as Weldon had to settle for a fourth-place finish and Dixon for sixth.

Nevertheless, Ganassi’s cars and teams are consistently primed and ready for May, and this year should be no different.

Rounding out the list of big stories heading into May is the return of Sarah Fisher, who will compete in her fifth Indy 500 and first since 2004. She will team with 2005 Indy 500 champ Buddy Rice and drive for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

There is still the possibility of a third woman to join Patrick and Fisher on the starting grid.

Milka Duno of Venezuela is rumored to be driving for Cahill Racing, but a formal announcement has yet to be made. Duno already has Danica-ish looks and could steal some of Patrick’s thunder come May.

So what does all this mean? The anticipation for the Indy 500 is underway with a talented pool of hungry drivers eager to drink the milk in victory lane.

Fresher Vision’s Official Pick: I started attending the Indianapolis 500 in 1991, and in the 16, a Penske driver has won seven. To make Penske an even more odds-on-favorite, his cars have won 7 of the last 11 races in which they have competed in (Penske skipped out on the race from 1996-2000 due to the IRL-Cart split).

Hornish or Castroneves would be a safe pick, but I am not going the safe route this year.

My prediction is always fast and consistently competitive, and that is why I believe Tony Kanaan will be drinking the milk on May 27 as he will capture his first Indianapolis 500 win. Kanaan was runner-up to Buddy Rice in 2004, and could have given Rice a run for his money had rain not shortened the race by 20 laps. Kanaan followed up his 2004 runner-up finish with the pole in 2005.

In his five previous Indy 500 starts, he has led for 119 laps and four top-10 finishes. The only time he failed to finish was his rookie year of 2002 when he crashed on the 89th lap when he crashed while leading.

Barring another freak accident, the 2007 Indy 500 will be Kanaan’s to lose.