Indianapolis, Indiana. Growing up in Indiana, when you think Pacers, there’s one name that’s synonymous with the Pacers franchise, and that name is Bobby “Slick” Leonard. I love his passion for the game and it’s almost like he would rather be on the bench than with Mr. Boyle. When the Pacers are screwing up on the court, or when they make a great play, the coach in Slick comes out. Now that my dad gave me a satellite radio, I can finally enjoy Slick and Mark first hand. The power of satellite radio allows me to bring all your “boom baby” action to this website. Leonard and Boyle are two of the NBA’s most personable guys. I met them when the Pacers were in Bismarck taking on the T-Wolves in 2004, and Leonard looked at me and said, “boom baby.” The reason why I love Pacers radio is because it makes me want to put on a uniform and help the Pacers win a championship, because of Leonard’s fire and passion, and the way he brings color to Boyle’s play by play.

Indianapolis, Indiana. Hope springs eternal that the Indiana Pacers will keep pace with the rest of the NBA. It all begins tonight at Indiana’s field of dreams, Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Listen for a much more aggressive Pacer team than in years past, with two of the most visible voices in basketball, Mark Boyle and Slick Leonard. Returning behind the bench is Frank Vogel, who replaced Jim O’Brian after another unacceptable and awful season. This is supposed to be Indiana’s game, but it hasn’t been since number 31, Reggie Miller retired. Miller was the Pacers’ spark plug for so many years against the New York Knicks and other teams. This reporter used to call Reggie, “Killer Miller” because of his ability to carry a team on this shoulders and come up with big shots in the clutch. Mr. Byrd has yet to find Reggie’s replacement. We saw a glimpse of it in the playoffs from Tyler Hansbrough against the Bulls, but it wasn’t enough, and it left a sour taste in my mouth. Can Hansbrough be the healthy hand that the Pacers need? I think he can and he will.

Bismarck, ND. After a week in which it was time to tip off the new season for Class A boys basketball, the Century Patriots found themselves in an unfamiliar position since 1984 as top dog in the boys basketball kingdom. It began with a loss at St. Mary’s on a last second buzzer beater by the Saints. Then on Thursday night, in the Pat’s home opener, it was a 20 point drubbing at the hands of the Mandan Braves, who looked like North Carolina after suffering a loss in their opener at Jamestown. jeremiahboyce.com asked CHS head coach Darren Mattern if he was worried about his team’s 0-2 start, and he said no, we just have to get back to fundamentals. We also posed the question, who are your key leaders, and Mattern said we haven’t found our leaders yet. We also asked him who are some of your key seniors, and he said number 4 Tom Fraase and number 12 Alex Bray. The Pats look to improve when they go hunting for ‘yotes in Williston. They do not return to Olson gym until January 7, when they take on Belcourt.