NFL champion Harbaugh visits brother-in-law Crean

(AP) NFL champion Harbaugh visits brother-in-law Crean
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Sports Writer
WASHINGTON
Baltimore Ravens coach Jim Harbaugh is hoping some of his Super Bowl-winning karma will rub off on Indiana’s basketball team, which just so happens to be coached by his brother-in-law, Tom Crean.

Harbaugh made the drive down the road to the nation’s capital on Wednesday to visit with the Hoosiers.

“I’ve got a little something planned,” said Harbaugh, who was wearing a gray hoodie with a red “Indiana Basketball” logo on his chest. “A little pep talk.”

Crean is married to Harbaugh’s sister. Harbaugh’s Ravens beat his brother Jim’s San Francisco 49ers for the NFL title in February.

“Just really excited for the family and everything. It’s been a crazy year. It’s been a great ride,” Harbaugh said outside Indiana’s locker room, a day before the No. 1-seeded Hoosiers face No. 4 Syracuse in the East Regional semifinals. “If Tom can pull off a miracle here and get to the Final Four and maybe win the thing _ would that be something?”

Actually, given that Indiana spent more time at No. 1 in The Associated Press poll than any other school this season, it might not take all that much of a miracle.

Still, Harbaugh sounded very much like a coach in discussing Crean’s team.

“They’ve been forged by fire, by adversity. They know how to fight. They do that every week,” Harbaugh said. “Kind of reminds me of the Ravens a little bit.”

And Crean credited the Harbaugh brothers with showing him a thing or two about how to deal with athletes, no matter the sport.

“What I’ve continued to take from them is they don’t come in with a business mindset. They don’t treat their players like it’s business,” Crean said. “There is a business aspect to it, but they really do try to build one-on-one relationships. They really do try to get `deep.'”