Evan West

While some Indiana wildflowers can be quite showy, many of the blooms are more subtle than the hybrids bred to turn heads at The Home Depot; loving them is like looking past the prom queen and falling for the girl with glasses who reads poetry.

The fate twist was all the more poignant this afternoon, when perennial oh-so-close finisher Tony Kanaan, who had previously placed fifth or better five times, finally raised the Borg-Warner Trophy.

No word yet on possible Indy appearances by any of the movie’s other marquee stars, including Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Maya Rudolph, and Snoop Dogg.

Anderson-based Sandi Patty—who will sing the national anthem before the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday—confides that you should “try to push out of your mind that you wish you were singing God Bless America.”

Take a look at some Fast Friday gems.

Michael Peña, who will wave the green flag to start the 97th running of the 500, has appeared in the Oscar-winning films Million Dollar Baby and Crash and the hit television crime drama The Shield.

The honor comes during a busy month for the team, many of whose players are returning from overseas stints with other clubs for the start of the 2013 WNBA season in San Antonio on May 24.

Last week, 38 cases went home with attendees of a preview charity event in Speedway, according to Tom Blattler of Ed Carpenter Racing, which is sponsored by the vodka brand.

A complete photo gallery of all things kickoff week.

Eventually, the time comes when you realize the music that defined their youth is now old—and that you, by extension, are now old, too.

The past year has been an eventful one for the former star of the Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle, USMC. After having heart-valve surgery last spring, he came out of the closet in early 2013.

You can look all you want this May. But you’ll have to wait until the fall to call one of these babies your own.

Several months ago, American Way, the in-flight magazine of American Airlines, asked May Madness (and Yours Truly) to share some of our local expertise on the Indianapolis 500 and surrounding hoopla.

Okay, so the Hoosiers didn’t finish their exciting 2012–13 season on the high note IU fans had hoped for. No need to belabor that point.

There wasn’t much to admire about IU’s sloppy Sweet 16 loss to Syracuse on Thursday. But CBS sideline reporter Rachel Nichols liked what she saw in star Hoosier guard Victor Oladipo—or so one would think, judging by this unfortunate photo posted on Deadspin.