I wanted to devote my space and time this week to what happened at Grace College in Winona Lake last week.

I wonder if somewhere around the fifth week following Tom Brady’s retirement announcement he woke up and enthusiastically asked his progeny, “Good morning kids! What are we doing today?” My guess is the kids collectively responded, “Ummm… WE?”

As winter turns to spring in the Northern Indiana Lakes Region, winter sports change over to spring sports. The swishing of nets and the splashing of swimmers gives way to the pinging of bats on balls and the track official’s starting pistol. I have no stats to back it up, but I think more kids commit acts that violate their school’s athletic code in the spring and summer than any other time of the year. That makes them ineligible for the fall and beyond. 

Exactly one year ago this weekend I was discussing how my previous week’s column was wrong about daylight saving time’s correct weekend starting point. This year, I was wrong about something I posted last week… again.

The State of the City address I delivered two days ago at the Center Lake Pavilion was my 11th as your mayor. I thought in today’s column, I might first discuss how I prepare for the State of …

With the Tigers knocked out of the boys’ sectional tournament on its opening night, I was staring at a basketball-free weekend last Friday and Saturday for the second time in three weeks. I spent time with my family on Friday. We had a birthday party to go to and it was fun. But Saturday, I went to the sectional final at Triton.

We’ve had a few area boys’ high school teams end their seasons this week, and the prospect of The Basketball League (TBL) launching a franchise in Warsaw would feed the need for live basketball as prep and college basketball draws to their respective closes.

At the urging of some of this column’s most loyal followers, I have decided to address the issue of transgender athletes in Indiana High School sports. Again, we must start with some foundational ground rules.

In the same spirit as the Manning brothers’ Monday Night Football (MNF) alternate telecast, the NBA All-Star Game will have an alternate broadcast featuring the usual Inside The NBA hosts, Ernie Johnson, Chuck Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal. Draymond Green will join the crew to watch the game and just talk about it as they go.

One of the great memories I have of childhood was the gift of an AM transistor radio. It was about the size of an index card, as thick as maybe three decks of cards, had a black leather carrying case and it was a device that allowed me to violate bedtime on more occasions than I can count.

I read with a lot of interest the story in the Times Union last week about the Wawasee School Board meeting. The school board has been approached with the concept of naming the football stadium at Wawasee after Harry J. Michael. Not everyone believes this is a good idea.

No matter what segment of life we are talking about, a clear hierarchy of leadership is pretty important to the overall success of that segment. It’s true in families, in businesses and organizations, in churches and in sports.

I’m feeling self-indulgent this week. If you don’t have Ambien at home, just keep reading. . Props to my editor as I unapologetically take another swing at Class 6A high school football sectional alignments.

I have a secret. I don’t consider it an earth-shattering secret. You may even find it not a big deal. Actually, you probably will feel that way—I understand. Here it is: I grew up wanting to be a football kicker.

I wondered how a complete month’s separation of boys’ and girls’ basketball post-seasons would fly, but it works out nicely. Hats off to the IHSAA. Otherwise, in rare cases, some schools would be making schleps in two straight weeks to Indianapolis to watch their boys’ and girls’ teams play for state championship hardware.

Once again, the small brain inside this large skull of mine has so many thoughts floating around in a circle like a parade inside it that I just can’t lock into one. So here comes as many as I can fit in today.

There are numerous recent and in-progress renovations among Warsaw Community High School’s athletic facilities. A new tennis court is due for completion by the arrival of the spring sports season. The school added the Tiger Recreational Athletic Center during the 2019-2020 scholastic athletic season. The new painting and woodwork on the TCU Court in the Tiger Den looks sharp, too. What’s next on the construction/renovation horizon for Warsaw Community High School? How about baseball?

This is a sports column. Every week, I write about sports and the people who play them. Every week, that is, except this one.

Last Monday night’s College Football Playoff (CFP) championship had 22 million viewers, not as low as the previous year’s 18.7 million viewers who witnessed Alabama’s convincing 52-24 win over Ohio State.

In a year where the NFL created more playoff opportunities than ever before, our two closest teams to our area couldn’t figure out a way to grab a single one. The Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears are staring in the window of a local store on a cold winter night, wishing like everything that could just go inside and look around the merchandise more closely.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld talked about free agency in sports in a stand-up comedy bit he did in the early 90s. He referred to the effects the dynamic movement of players in a few simple sentences. "You're rooting for clothes, when you get right down to it,” Seinfeld said. “We're screaming about laundry."

I’m very thankful that I have had the opportunity to share my thoughts each month in this column. This past year, among other things, I have written about housing, the 2020 Census, local public …

I have three subjects today, and I couldn’t choose between the three, so I chose them all.

Last Friday at the end of the Northern Lakes Conference boys’ basketball opener between Warsaw and Wawasee, I had a chance to see something I don’t usually pick up sitting in one of the media’s mezzanine spots in the Tiger Den, but I was treated to a different view at the scorer’s table.

I was doing my homework last night for my next game broadcast when I heard the dogs at the north end of our neighborhood starting to bark. The barking got louder and louder, and then our very own Zero started howling his alarm as he stared out our front window. I yelled at him to stop, but he was serious about warning us all about…something. I gave in and went to the window, and I realized what all the fuss was about—Santa was here.