The majority of you won't be lucky enough to migrate south for Spring Break. However, there is still somewhere you could go that's not only close but could also provide a great deal of excitement.
The location is Cleveland. I realize Cleveland is the often forgotten stepchild of Detroit but starting Sunday it should be the place to be for those staying in the wonderful Indiana weather. The city that rocks will play host to both the men's and women's Mid-American Conference basketball tournaments.
Barring some miraculous run by the men's team, Quicken Loans Arena will be the final place that senior Peyton Stovall will don a Ball State uniform. He has meant as much to this university as any sports star ever has and he deserves to be supported in his final games.
The women's team has a good shot at winning the tournament. There's no question they have the talent to do so, but the fact still remains the conference tournament could very well be the last time seniors Lisa Rusche and Julie DeMuth suit up as Cardinals.
All three have been role models that kids around Delaware County can look up to, whether the students wanted to be or not. They have volunteered in the community, given their all on the court and perhaps most importantly stayed away from activities that could make them one in a long line of athletes in trouble with the law.
All three have faced adversity in their time here and all three have shined through. Stovall has blown out his knee twice, yet is still one of the top 20 scorers in Ball State University's history and arguably the best three-point shooter ever to come to Muncie. Not to mention all the stuff from this year that can be summed up by just saying Ronny Thompson.
DeMuth also has played with knee problems. She has had two surgeries on her right knee and one this off-season on her left knee. The surgeries have left her playing with little to no cartilage in her knee caps, meaning with ever step she takes bone is hitting bone. Her battle has gone largely unnoticed but it can't be easy.
My father has a similar problem. He walks with a permanent limp and can't run because he has no cartilage in his ankle. The ankle is always swollen and with every step he has pain. Due to the lack of cartilage calcium builds up in his ankle which every once in a while will break off and make it almost impossible for him to walk for a couple days.
I don't know how much of this DeMuth experiences but the fact she is still playing 26.5 minutes and is second on the team with 11.6 points and 6.6 rebounds a game is a testament to why she deserves your support in Cleveland.
While Rusche hasn't had the injuries of Stovall and DeMuth, she's gone through a different kind of adversity. In her first two seasons she didn't play in every game, started once and averaged less than nine minutes in the games she did play. By dedicating herself to the gym, including 6 a.m. workouts over the summer, she transformed into one of the best shot blockers in school history plus a legitimate double-double threat.
Rather than sitting in front of the television all day watching crappy daytime show after crappy daytime show you should be in Cleveland supporting your school.
While we are on the topic of support, the Nest better be in full force Tuesday for Stovall's senior night and Wednesday for his and DeMuth's.
Write to Levin at levintblack@gmail.com
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