Cheat Sheet: If you read only one thing today, read this
The biggest and most popular stories for April 18, 2015
Josh Speidel, a 6-8 standout senior basketball player from Columbus North who suffered a severe brain injury on Feb. 1, spoke his first word on Thursday since the injury. Josh's father, David, witnessed his son saying "mom." His mother, Lisa, would soon witness the same word being spoken again.
"I just broke down crying," Lisa said.
2. Matthew Tully asks if Indiana's governor can save political face.
Gov. Mike Pence has had to do a lot of damage control in the last few months. In the past, Pence has shown he can learn from his political mistakes. Can he recover from recent mistakes surrounding RFRA and JustIN? Or did they damage his political career too deeply?
3. Thomas Bryant, IU's new big man "can do about everything."
He's 6-10 and 220 pounds. Right away, Thomas Bryant is an upgrade from last season at post for the Hoosiers. Sure, he'll rebound. But he can shoot, too.
4. Lafayette police officers threatened to kill a civilian, according to a lawsuit.
You don't "f---- with a cop's family." That's what one officer allegedly said according to a lawsuit. And that's just the beginning of some very interesting quotes attributed to Lafayette police officers Michael Barthelemy and Charles Williams.
Later, Williams is said to have left a phone message on a man's phone threatening to kill him and throw his body parts in a fireplace.
5. Will the Pacers' Roy Hibbert be in a lesser role next season?
If Roy Hibbert decides to take his player option and return for the final year of his contract, he will likely have a reduced role. And if Hibbert decides to stick with the Pacers, he will get paid more than $15 million for the 2015-16 season to possibly be a backup center.