Opinion - Times-Union Newspaper

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Chip Shots: Reminding Myself To Enjoy Summer’s Lull

My scholastic sports year officially ends tonight when the IHSAA Class 2A softball semistate champion will be crowned at the Tiger Softball Complex.

There is nothing going on for me on the gridiron nor on the pitch until mid-August when soccer launches.
Warsaw Parks And Recreation Offers Something For Everyone
The Penalty Box: Free Fishing This Weekend

My parents were not rich people.

When they passed away, they left the six remaining Grossman siblings with very little in material things but a treasure chest full of the stuff that really matters.

That said, each of us kids ‘inherited’ something earthly from each one of them.
A Highlight Reel Of Economic Development Happenings In KC
Chip Shots: My Favorite Summer Volleyball Memory

I know this weekend is not officially summer, but the 101 days starting with today and ending on Labor Day were loosely termed the “101 days of summer” when I was in the Air Force.
The Penalty Box: It Was Not For Nothing

I grew up in a patriotic America and I am unashamedly patriotic.
Chip Shots: Reflections Of Spring

I’ll cover the two regional track meets this week where Times-Union area athletes have earned berths to keep their seasons alive.
The Penalty Box: The Search For Blame Chokes Us

There are a lot of things wrong with the world we live in. Only a fool, or a politician, would claim to be able to fix them all.
Chip Shots: IHSAA Proposed Class Tranches O.K. With Me

The IHSAA Board of Directors and Executive Committee didn’t produce a classification solution for basketball exactly the way I proposed in a column a few weeks ago. I like what is currently proposed nonetheless for not only basketball, but for each four-class-structured IHSAA sport.
The Penalty Box: Betting Is Taking A Bite Out Of Us

I am not at all a person who says “I told you so” much.
Chip Shots: Until They Aren’t

I’ve figured out things well enough since fall 2019 to realize when athletic schedules get their tightest, a sudden inevitable lull will follow. I probably wrote a handful of columns among February, October, and May in previous years kvetching to each of you about the pace, and the packed schedule.
Local, State Development Collaborations Are Important For Housing
Chip Shots: Is The TRC Creating Problems Vs. Solving Them?

There are people who part ways with their employers, and those employers will say something like, “this gives us a chance to improve the position,” or “we aren’t going to stand in your way.”
The Penalty Box: Rhodes Leaves Legacy Of Excellence

Al Rhodes announced last week that he would no longer be coaching varsity boys basketball teams.
Chip Shots: Even In Spring, It Comes Back to Football

The NBA playoffs are in full swing, joined this week by the NHL postseason, but my interests and thoughts end up falling back against the comfort of discussing football among most weeks’ column topics.
The Penalty Box: Character In Focus During Summits At Grace

I get a lot of opportunities to speak to people.
Chip Shots: To The Sports Fans, And To The Writers

The beautiful weather this week launched a flurry of spring sports action throughout the area, and this very pleasant side of nature uncustomary in mid-April has inspired more than my opinions on sports.
The Penalty Box: Giving It And Taking It

I, like many of you, love watching basketball.
Chip Shots: New League, Future Tiger Foes Keeps This Old Dog Woofin’

I wish a joyous, blessed Easter to each of you. I’ll just consume a few favorite sweets because spring sports are getting ready to ramp up. I’ve gotta’ stay healthy for the uptick in the action, and some recent news affording the area some enjoyment of competitive football.
Mfg. Readiness Grants Support Local Manufacturers In Leveraging The Latest Technologies
Clearing Up Misconceptions About An Airport Authority With Facts
Chip Shots: Channeling The Pope Of Mope

Steven Morrissey, known to rock ‘n roll fans as – simply – Morrissey, is nicknamed the Pope of Mope. I feel like I’m channeling him this week in my preamble. If you are unaware of who he is, and you have not heard of his 1980’s game-changing band The Smiths, look him up, and listen to some of his tunes.
The Penalty Box: Baseball’s New Rules Will Take Time

Baseball is trying something new.
Chip Shots: Save The Zebras

There is a species whose attrition will trend toward endangerment unless its young can replenish the aging population: the zebra.
The Penalty Box: A Season Of Grace

The basketball season is over for Grace College.
Chip Shots: I Told You So

Approximately two years ago I told you to be careful because if you ask me how I’m doing, I’ll tell you exactly how I’m doing. One of my older sisters told me it’s the definition of a bore, but I disagree.
The Penalty Box: Spring Season Is The Code Violation Season

As winter turns to spring in the Northern Indiana Lakes Region, winter sports change over to spring sports.
Chip Shots: Darn! That’s The End

This week’s launch of postseason basketball reminded me of the Schoolhouse Rock animated clip, “Interjections!” The very end of the clip, specifically, already hit me after Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday night’s action.
History Of Warsaw Airport Dates Back To 1946
The Penalty Box: This Is Purdue’s Big Chance

I was spending time with my family Saturday night, which is a rare thing for me from November to March.
Chip Shots: Channeling NSYNC, Bye Bye Bye… Bye

The Hoosier State has a problem with its basketball class alignment affecting its postseason product, Hoosier Hysteria.
Podcast Invites Listeners Into The ‘Clearly Kosciusko’ Story
The Penalty Box: Sports Should Always Be About Merit

I love talking with fans.
Chip Shots: The Midwest Is Stuck With Me

Happy 88th birthday to my Uncle Hal, Harold Alonzo Esterwood, Jr., known as Mr. E. among people in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood since the 1960s, and among generations of fourth-graders in a Cleveland suburb where he taught for decades. I get excited about his birthday because his longevity defies the odds among other relatives in my maternal lineage.
Chip Shots: Another Super Bowl Column?

I strongly believe every angle and take on tomorrow’s Super Bowl has been covered, and adding my two cents on the keys to winning for each team would be white noise this morning. Moving the focus toward food analytics, the estimated units consumed among avocados, tortilla chips, jars of salsa, and whether more flapper or drummy chicken wings will be devoured is also off the table.
Can Connor Cover? The King, The Big Game And The Final Pick

After spending the last five to six months picking every NFL game every week, oftentimes unsuccessfully, we have finally reached the biggest game of them all.
The Penalty Box: Playing Hard

Last week I was watching a college basketball game while working on my “homework” for an upcoming basketball broadcast and I heard an announcer say “that guy plays hard all of the time!”
The Penalty Box: Breaking Records Revives Our Past

The seasons that the Warsaw boys and girls basketball are having have done a lot of positive things.
Chip Shots: Full Measure

Breaking Bad, the popular series running from 2008 to 2013 with several anti-heroes among its core cast, contains at least two specific episodes where two different characters talk about their respective regret for not conducting matters in full measure.
Can Connor Cover? Nostalgia and Sectional Fever

Apologies for the somewhat rushed introduction this week.
The Penalty Box: Colts And Bears Might Need Each Other

As the Bears’ and Colts’ seasons came to an end a couple of weekends ago, the emotion that came pouring out of both teams and their fans was a sense of relief.
Chip Shots: The Shield Owns January In My Brain

I’m sure college basketball, the NBA, the NHL, and scholastic winter sports are sharing space in each of your heads in January, but in my brain, the Shield, another moniker for the NFL, takes up most of the space in my brain while the other aforementioned seasons are tucked into cozy spaces.
Can Connor Cover? A Masterpiece Of Titanic Proportions

We’ll get to football in a second, but I’m going to start us off this week with some exciting personal news.
The Penalty Box: The Day The Buckeyes Came To Town

In the fall of 1996, I was broadcasting Tippecanoe Valley football with Rita Price on WRSW.
Chip Shots: I’m Getting To My Beef, Just Hold On

I watched two Warsaw Lady Tiger basketball games during the past week. I enjoyed myself at each road venue, but I’ll get to my beef when I feel like it.
Can Connor Cover? A Great Sunday To Be The Worst

I’ll start us off with the bad news this week and just rip the Band-Aid off: We only have 13 games of football left this season.
The Penalty Box: Sometimes There Isn’t A Manual

Last Monday, I flipped on my TV to see what the score was on the Monday Night Football game between the Bills and Bengals.
Chip Shots: SAC, Lady’s Sports, Then Sour Grapes For The Dismount

The Summit Athletic Conference, as I mentioned earlier this year, has a new conference and non-conference football schedule format so the teams are not spending their entire regular seasons cannibalizing each other.
Kosciusko Is An Ideal Place For People To Grow Personally, Professionally
A Significant Number Of Public Works Projects Is Coming This Year
Can Connor Cover? The Games Will Be Played, But None Seem To Matter

I don’t quite know how to begin or finish the column this week.
The Penalty Box: Warsaw, Penn To Revive The Old Tiger Den

Next Tuesday, Penn and Warsaw will play a boys basketball game in Warsaw, but it will not be in the Tiger Den at Warsaw Community High School.
Chip Shots: NFL Viewing Thoughts

Thank you for a fun 2022, Times-Union readers and subscribers. I hope each of you has a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2023.
Can Connor Cover? A Look Back At The Ups And Downs Of 2022

There have been a ton of things that happened in the sporting world this year that deserve mentioning as we move on to 2023 next week.
The Penalty Box: Notre Dame Bowl Game This Year Should Be Treasured

It is no secret that I love Notre Dame.
Chip Shots: Seasons Of Surprises

Merry Christmas to each of you.

Every Christmas is a good Christmas for me because I finish the day with at least one pleasant surprise.
Can Connor Cover? Christmas Came Twice For Sports Fans This Year

There are some days, and I swear this on everything I hold dear, that the sports gods will look down upon us, look back at each other, nod their heads and make the decision to give us a day we will be talking about for years to come.
The Penalty Box: Santa’s Visit

Sunday nights are pretty quiet at the Grossman Compound.
Can Connor Cover? A Fresh Piece Of Humble Pie Coming Right Up

Some weeks, being a Football Guy isn’t as glamorous and fun as it may look on paper.
The Penalty Box: A Christmas Buffet Of Stories

Tis the holiday season, and a big part of that (for better or for worse) is that we eat big.
Chip Shots: CFP Expansion Timing – Savvy Or Dumb Luck?

The 2022-2023 College Football Playoff selection committee got it right this year, and furthermore, their selection greased the skids for those clamoring for a need to expand the field to twelve teams – not eight, mind you.
Can Connor Cover? Enjoying A Much-Needed Victory Lap

Hello everybody. I’m writing this column live from the top of the world.
The Penalty Box: Expectations Are A Fool’s Paradise

Working part-time for financial planners Alderfer Bergen for six years made me more aware of the stock market and all the things that go with it.
Chip Shots: It’s Pruning Season

Greetings from West Des Moines, Iowa, PF Chang’s specifically where I’ll share my thoughts in a tighter-than-usual race against my deadline.
INDOT Announces PEL Study, Says It Will Be Collaborative
Can Connor Cover? Rivalry Weekend, Changes, And Saying Goodbye

First things first, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends, family or whomever else you may have spent the day with.
The Penalty Box: My Bucket List

Everyone has something they would like to do or some place they would like to see or visit before their life ends.
Chip Shots: Thank You Tiger Football

I hope each of you enjoyed a happy Thanksgiving.
The Penalty Box: Reliving The Roar Of A Dynasty

My friend, Matt, loves the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Chip Shots: Lessons Learned, An NFL Sunday Surprise

Recent Sundays have been very busy, b