Boiling Point

Boiler bits, Big Ten media day edition: Heygood

Purdue linebacker Anthony Heygood made his first trip to the Big Ten media days in Chicago last week. Here's what he had to say about the event, among other things.
It's your first time here in the craziness. How has it been?
Interesting. I've never been around this much chaos. (Teammate Greg Orton) said his TV guy was weird because the light was there, and the TV guy was behind the light. So (Orton) couldn't see him. So it was like a fist asking questions.
What's been the most-asked question you've gotten?
"How do you think the defense is going to do this year?" It's like, what do you expect me to say? We're going to be terrible on defense? I expect my defense to do very well, of course.
Have you seen many movies this summer? I've only been to the movies one time this summer. I went to see "Hancock," and it was OK. It is funny, but with Will Smith, you expect something else when you go to see a movie because he's getting paid like $30 million. You expect him to be there and get wild. It could have been better.
You're too busy to go more often?
(Kory) Sheets lives with me this summer, and he goes all the time. I'm like, 'I'm not going to pay $10 to watch a movie.' I can wait until it comes out on DVD. I have, like, 600 DVDs. I love DVDs. My DVD collection is ridiculous. I own pretty much everything.
What's your most prized DVD?
Probably "No Country for Old Men." Great movie. I went and bought that when it came out.
If you didn't see it in the theater, how did you know it was good?
I heard a bunch of people raving about it. I'm like, 'I haven't seen it.' (People said) 'You have to see it because it has a shotgun with a silencer.' I'm like, 'That's great. What's in the rest of the movie?' It turned out to be a great movie.
Do you have a favorite genre?
I watch everything. I'm a homebody, so I watch a lot of TV and DVDs.
Are there any you bought but haven't opened yet?
The "Powerpuff Girls" movie. It's still in the wrapper. That and "War" with Jet Li. One of my favorites is "Dude, Where's My Car?" Everybody hates that movie. I think it is hilarious. It's just so stupid that it's so funny to me.
Any weird dreams lately?
I had a dream that Barack Obama won the presidency and the entire United States had a party. It was the weirdest dream ever. I swear. I turn on the TV (in the dream), and they're like, 'Barack Obama wins.' I turn the channel, and they're like, 'They're partying in Wisconsin.' I turn the channel, 'They're partying in Massachusetts.' It was like people in the street everywhere. I go outside in Lafayette, and everybody is dancing and running down the street. I'm like, 'What is going on?'

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Boiler bits, Big Ten media day edition: Painter

Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter was one of the most sought-after players during Friday's session at the Big Ten media days in Chicago. Rarely was Painter alone at his table, but there still was time to ask the Heisman hopeful some random questions for our Boiler Bits.
Are you big man on campus yet?
You go places, and some people notice you. But I don't have people following me around or anything.
You have DVDs, calendars, your own Web site for the Heisman campaign. You're much more of a team guy, but some of this can be good for Purdue as a whole.
Yeah. Maybe they turn on a game because they saw a calendar. We've had a guy in our department follow us around with a camera while we're here. It gives us a chance for people to get to know us. They see us on the field, but this gives them a chance to get to know us. Maybe it will get people excited about Purdue football.
Are you insulted at all that there are still quite a few left?
Not really. That means more for my mom, and she'll love it. She'll just hang calendars up all over the place.
Anything for the ladies who maybe aren't Purdue football fans -- shots of you by the pool maybe?
No, these are all action shots. It's not summer time (during the season's calendar months), so I'm not going to be in board shorts.
Does the DVD have any behind-the-scenes stuff?
It's just a highlight tape. It's only three or four minutes long.
Would you make for good reality TV?
I'm not a very exciting guy. If they tell me what to say, I might make it funny.
Have you had a chance to go to many movies this summer?
I haven't been to a movie in a long time. I'm real excited to go to the "Step Brothers" movie. I'm a big Will Ferrell fan. But I do like movies.
There are a lot of guys here looking sharp, including yourself (grey pinstripe suit, white tie). Do you like getting dressed up?
My girlfriend got me this (shirt). I don't know what you call it. Green? Pastel? I used to wear a salmon shirt under it with this suit, and it looked nice. But I decided to switch up the color. I've got four suits. I try to get one every year. I wore my new one (Thursday).
Your hair is getting long.
I need a trim. It's the longest I've ever had it. It's a little different, I guess.
When Kyle Orton went through his Heisman push, they made him shave his beard and cut his hair.
I don't have a beard, really, so I'm OK there. They haven't told me to cut my hair yet. (But) the season hasn't started yet.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Boiler bits, Big Ten media day edition: Orton

With three football players from each of the Big Ten's 11 schools packed into a ballroom in the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, naturally, talk mostly is about football.
But I like to let the guys relax a bit, so I asked Purdue's Curtis Painter, Anthony Heygood and Greg Orton some random questions last week in Chicago.
A sampling of my conversation with Orton is below. Check back to hear from Painter and Heygood.
What's the best movie you've seen this summer?
I'm definitely up to date on my movies. I'd probably say the best one I've seen this summer was "The Dark Knight." It was really good. "Wanted" with Angelina Jolie was really good.
"Wanted" was really bloody.
Yeah. It was kind of like the Matrix a little bit. That and "Hancock" was good. Hancock was hilarious.
Everyone is saying Heath Ledger was amazing in Batman. What's your take?
Oh my goodness. I wouldn't say give him an Oscar because he passed away. He really deserved it. If you didn't know that was Heath Ledger, you wouldn't know who it was. He was outstanding. He puts a different persona on the Joker. It's more modern. He's darker. He's killing people left and right. He's hilarious, too. It's really good.
Switching gears a bit -- have you had any weird dreams lately?
Yeah. I was just telling somebody, too. Everybody was in it. We were at some type of show or something. It was like an awards show a little bit. I had just seen the ESPYs. I just started seeing everybody, and I was talking to David Beckham, but I was talking in his accent. It was really weird.
This is your first time at the Big Ten media days. Has it been OK?
Yeah, for the most part. It's just waking up early (is tough). I'm not a morning person. (Thursday) we had the thing where we go around to each podium (for TV). That was just hectic. It was chaos seeing everybody scrambling everywhere. You never really get to see the behind the scenes, so it was just like, 'Wow.'
Has there been a question you keep getting asked?
"This is coach Tiller's last year, so how do you feel about it and how does he feel about it?"
When you know you're going to get a question over and over, do you change up your answer?
I try to change it up a little bit, but for the most part, a lot of it is just recycled. (laughs) But I enjoy it, though. It's fun.
I know you got in Thursday. Have you gotten out at all?
Got a chance to hang out with Javon Ringer at Michigan State. We grew up together. We were talking and hanging out with some Wisconsin guys and IU guys. It was fun to talk to guys off the field.
You're looking nice in your suit. Are you a bit of a fashionista?
I think I'm a little GQ a bit. I picked it up back at home. I like the look. I've got about four suits. My mom is proud of me. I got deals, two for 150 (dollars). Trying to look sharp.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Stanford Keglar Q&A

We didn't get a chance to post the full transcript of my Q&A with linebacker Stanford Keglar in the print edition last week, so here you go.

You were playing both sam (strong-side linebacker) and will (weak-side) in the spring. Do you feel more comfortable with one more than the other? Yeah, I do feel more comfortable at will. But I've caught onto sam because they're really alike in a lot of ways. But they have their big differences, also. So I've caught on to both of them, but I would definitely say I'm more comfortable at the will position.
When you look at where you were last year, or even the year before, to now, I'm guessing the game has just slowed down so much. It's definitely slowed down a lot. It makes things a lot easier. I just see the whole picture. We use the term of taking your blinders off, and that's definitely happened to me over these past two seasons. It's definitely slowed down a great deal, and I play a lot better now.
You're from Indy, so are you a big Colts fan? Yeah, I'm definitely been a Colts fan my whole life.
You practice on Sundays, but do you get a chance to watch the games? Yeah, I actually do get to watch the games. If they're before practice, then we'll sit in the lounge and watch the games. I make sure they have the channel of the Colts. I always go home and watch the game, too.
Do you have a favorite player or somebody you model yourself after? Not really modeled myself after, but I kind of keep an eye on some of the defensive players. I watch Cato June a lot, and I also watch (Bob) Sanders. He's a great tackler in the open field.
You play piano and string bass? Yeah, I do. I started playing piano when I was in elementary school cuz my mom, she made us because she did that when she was a little girl, too. They just wanted us to have another talent other than just sports, something that not too many people did. Then orchestra, I started playing bass in sixth grade. Actually, I wanted to play saxophone like my oldest brother did, but then my mom I should just try to do string bass like my second brother did, so I just stuck with that.
So do you have a pretty big family then? Two brothers and two sisters. I'm the youngest. Pretty nice-sized family, yeah.
So do they take care of, watch over you? Yeah, they do. They give me and advice and stuff like that. But not too much. I don't get babied. I'm definitely not the typical baby of the family.
What kind of music do you listen to? I have mostly rap and R&B, but I have some orchestra music from high school. I don't like to blast it in my car. But every now and then, I like to listen to it. I listen to a little gospel music also.
Your dad played basketball at Arkansas State. How much did he help prepare you for college athletics? Yeah, he's gave me some perspective how to handle things in college, time management and stuff. He's always giving me good advice. So he definitely helped me out when I got into college.
Does everybody come to the games? My mom and dad go to every game, away games and home games. My brothers and sisters switch off. But they've all been to my games.
How many tickets do you guys get? Each person gets four, but there are guys out of state, and I ask for them.
What's your favorite TV show? I watch a lot of TV. I like cartoons a lot. My favorite cartoon is "Dragon Ball Z." A lot of people don't watch that, but I think it's a great TV show. Everybody should watch it. Some people think it's for little kids, but I think it's for all ages. I watch BET a lot, also, "Comic View" (on BET), and some of the sitcoms.
So you're more funny than drama. Yeah, definitely. I'll take comedy over drama any time.
Do people call you Stan? Some people do. People just give me nicknames out of nowhere. I tell everybody my name is Stanford. But then all of a sudden, they'll be like, Stan or Keg Stan or Keggie or S Keg or something.
Stanford sounds distinguished. Yeah, a lot of people say that. It sounds distinguished or professional.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette

Anthony Spencer Q&A

Anthony Spencer, a product of Fort Wayne's Bishop Luers High, has battled injuries (ankle, foot) throughout his Purdue career. This season, he missed time during training camp with a hamstring injury that had coach Joe Tiller wondering if Spencer could play consecutive series. Spencer showed Tiller he could handle his responsibilities, turning in one of Purdue's best defensive efforts in a 60-35 victory over Indiana State Saturday. Spencer had seven tackles, including three for a loss, and a sack. He took some time after Tuesday's practice to answer some random questions.

How are you feeling? I know you had that hamstring bothering you.
I'm good. I'm way over that.
What do you think is the best word to describe your personality?
Quiet.
Do you have aspirations to play professionally?
Yes. That's my goal. It's a goal I've had all my life, so it's pretty important.
How often do you get back to Fort Wayne?
In the summer, every other weekend. Now, never.
Do you have a lot of family come up and watch the games?
I supply all the tickets. I get like eight or nine extra tickets a week, so a good 13 people.
What's in your CD player right now?
Lil' Wayne.
What's your favorite TV show?
Grey's Anatomy.
Really? I'm a huge fan. Why do you like that?
I don't know. My ex put me on that. I just like it. It's something to watch, I guess.
Who's the right guy for Meredith?
Oh, that's a good question. I think she should go back with the doctor.
McDreamy?
Yeah, McDreamy.
Do you have a favorite hang-out spot in West Lafayette?
Favorite hang-out spot? (Laughs)
You're not going to say what you're thinking.
(Laughs) Uh, Brother's, I guess.
What would be the ultimate game for you, three sacks, an interception?
I really don't care, as long as we win.
Who's your best friend on the team?
I have a lot of best friends. I don't want to pick one. I don't want anyone mad at me.
How would you like to end your career here?
A Big Ten championship is what I want right now. Some type of championship. I haven't had that for awhile, so that's my ultimate goal right now.

-- By Stacy Clardie, The Journal Gazette