Evan West

Editor’s Note, March 27, 2013: This article originally appeared in the July 2004 issue of IM alongside this feature story. In 2009, actor Johnny Depp played Dillinger in the movie Public Enemies, about the Indiana desperado’s notorious Depression-era crime spree. Earlier this month, the Indianapolis International Airport announced plans to display Dillinger’s 1933 Essex Terraplane. […]

Though the ambush in Chicago cut short Dillinger’s crime spree and meteoric rise to fame, it sealed his reputation as one of the great bank robbers of all time. And his untimely, violent death made him an idol.

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably heard that President Barack Obama has penciled in Indiana at the top of his bracket for the 2013 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Earlier this month, Ray Steele of WIBC 93.1 FM invited executive editor Evan West into the studio to discuss IM’s March Crime Issue (cover story: “How Safe Are You?”).

IU basketball fans might still be reeling from recent setbacks to the team’s hopes of winning an outright Big Ten title this season. But if it’s any consolation, they can spend a few moments today reveling in past glory.

Something just wasn’t right, and Connie Ballard knew it. Three weeks earlier, one of her best patrons, a kind, elderly man named Milt Lindgren, had come into her automotive-repair shop to tell her that he was planning a roadtrip, and that he wanted the oil changed in his van before he left. But he never returned to have the work done.

Editor’s Note, Feb. 21, 2013: Ahead of the 2002 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis—and before his New Orleans Saints bested the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV—IM asked former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees to give some advice to outgoing IU QB Antwaan Randle El. Brees’s responses (below) originally appeared in the February 2002 issue. Randle El was selected in the second round of the 2002 draft and went on to play eight seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. The 2013 combine officially commences this Saturday in Indianapolis.

You might see a familiar face in Assembly Hall during today’s rivalry matchup with Purdue (2 p.m., ESPN): former North Central High School phenom and IU star Eric Gordon.

Editor’s Note, Feb. 15, 2013: The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will announce the finalists for its Class of 2013 inductees today, and Pacers broadcaster Bobby “Slick” Leonard is one of the contenders. The following originally appeared among IM’s “23 Reasons to Love the Pacers—Again!” in the November 2012 print edition.

Photo courtesy Indiana Pacers

Coming into this season, it seemed the most likely NBA draft prospects among the current Hoosier lineup were Cody Zeller (duh!) and Kentucky-killer Christian Watford. But two games into IU’s Big Ten campaign, with today’s tough matchup against eighth-ranked Minnesota looming (noon, Big Ten Network), another player is getting all the buzz: Victor Oladipo.

Indiana University basketball coach Tom Crean was busy over the weekend, and not just game-prepping for today’s Big Ten opener against Iowa (4 p.m., ESPN2). Early Saturday morning, while driving home from Assembly Hall after the Hoosiers’ 93-59 win over Jacksonville, Crean stopped to help a motorist who was stranded at the side of snow-covered State Road 45, just outside of Bloomington.

Pat McAfee won’t use urinals in public restrooms, and he always washes his hands. Because you never know who’s watching. “What usually happens is, people see me, and then tweet about it,” he says.

“I felt like when I played—just like when you watch Jordan [Hulls]—it’s almost like we have to do everything right, because we’re not as athletic as everybody we play against.”

To mark the 75th anniversary of March Madness, the NCAA today announced its picks for the Top 75 Players in the history of the men’s postseason basketball tournament—and among teams from Indiana, IU had far and away the best showing.