The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday they have reached an agreement with Rick Carlisle to become head coach. Per team policy, the terms of the agreement were not disclosed. 

Rick is a proven winner with a championship and will be a Hall of Fame coach,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “He has demonstrated throughout his career an ability to build something with sustainable success. He has great respect for our franchise and our fans from his previous times here. We are very happy to welcome him back to Indiana.”
 
Carlisle will begin his second head coaching stint with Indiana after he guided the Pacers to a 181-147 (.552) record during four seasons from 2003-07. In his first season as Pacers head coach in 2003-04, Carlisle led Indiana to a franchise-record 61 wins, posted the best record in the Eastern Conference and reached the Eastern Conference Finals. His 181 wins stands as the fourth-most by a head coach in NBA franchise history. Carlisle was also an assistant coach for the Pacers under Larry Bird from 1997-2000.
 
“My sincere thanks to Herb Simon, Kevin Pritchard and the entire Pacers organization for the opportunity to come back to basketball's heartland,” said Carlisle. “My wife, Donna, daughter, Abby, and I are truly grateful.” 
 
Carlisle has completed 19 NBA seasons as head coach of the Detroit Pistons (2001-03), Pacers and Dallas Mavericks (2008-21). He has compiled an 836-689 (.548) record and will enter the 2021-22 season ranked 15th in NBA history in coaching victories. Carlisle was named NBA Coach of the Year after his first season in Detroit in 2001-02 and led the Mavericks to their first NBA championship in 2010-11. 

The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday that Nate Bjorkgren will not be retained as the team’s head coach.

“The 2020-21 season was not what any of us hoped or anticipated it would be, and our results on the court certainly did not meet the standards for what our organization and our fans have come to expect,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “We have determined this is the right time to move in a different direction, and on behalf of the Simon Family and the entire Pacers organization, I want to express my gratitude to Nate for his efforts leading our team. While we do not have a definite timetable for our search, we will move quickly to identify candidates who will make our team and our organization stronger.”
            
Bjorkgren was hired prior to the 2020-21 season and led the Pacers to a 34-38 record. He previously served as an assistant coach in Toronto and Phoenix.

Rochester golf will be in the field at Lake Central Regional Thursday.

The Zebras’ second place finish at the Logansport Sectional at Dykeman Golf Course kept the team’s season alive.  Twin Lakes won the sectional with a team score of 310, nine strokes better than Rochester’s 319.

Logansport was the third team to advance with a 332, one stroke better than fourth-place Rensselaer Central.

Rochester’s Reece Renie was the top individual with a 73.  Teammate Wade Shafer finished tied for third with a 75.

Thursday’s regional will be held at Sandy Pines Golf Club featuring advancing teams and players from the Logansport, Valparaiso, Westfield, Lake Central and Harrison (W. Lafayette) sectionals.

The Rochester Zebras took advantage of a porous Whitko defense and won the 2A Wabash Sectional Championship Monday, 13-3.

The Zebras scored six times in the 6th inning to finish off the title by 10-run rule and advance to the Lafayette Central Catholic Regional on Saturday.

The win avenged a regular season loss to Whitko.  In that game, Whitko committed eight errors and still managed to get the win, 10-7.  Not the case this time.  Seven Whitko errors led to seven unearned Rochester runs.

Tarick McGlothin was 4-for-5, with two RBI and two runs scored.  Freshman Gavin Young drove in a pair of runs and scored twice with two hits on the day. 

Brock Beehler also drove in two with a 2-for-3 day at the plate.  He recorded the complete game win on the mound.

Rochester has won seven straight and nine of the last ten.

Saturday's Class 2A Lafayette Central Catholic baseball regional matchups:

#2 Wapahani (28-1) vs. Madison-Grant (21-7)

#6 Delphi (23-6) vs. Rochester (19-11)