Wow.

I suppose I saw it coming, because, after all, we are talking about basketball.

But I must admit even I was a bit taken aback by the storm of controversy unleashed by Sports Editor Dale Hubler's column last weekend.

I mean, for crying out loud, a teacher wrote in to make fun of Hubler for being a second-string football player at Warsaw Community High School.

So relevant.

Hubler's been subjected to a profanity-laced tirade and some pretty vulgar name-calling.

So classy.

In the hopes that calmer heads can prevail, please, gentle readers, allow me the opportunity to provide insight.

Lots of people in this town are tightly wound when it comes to Tiger basketball.

Hubler runs in those circles. Hubler is tightly wound about Tiger basketball.

He loves it. He would love nothing more than to be in Conseco Fieldhouse today covering the Tigers.

(Instead, he is in Conseco Fieldhouse watching Muncie Central and Lawrence North.)

Frankly, Hubler has an encyclopedic knowledge of Tiger basketball - and Indiana high school basketball in general. He can tell you anything you want to know, right off the top of his head.

It's kind of creepy.

All of this makes him uniquely qualified for the position he holds.

He came to me and asked about writing the now infamous column of last weekend. I, being a fanatical devotee of freedom of speech and expression, couldn't imagine denying him his opinion.

This is part of assessing the role of a daily newspaper in a small town.

Do we promote or report?

Do we always step away or do we lean into the inside fastball once in awhile? (Forgive the sports analogy.)

On the news side of things, people are more understanding when it comes to reporting bad news.

Readers take it as part of life and move on.

Sports is different. Sportswriters at small dailies seem to be expected to be cheerleaders for the team no matter what.

It doesn't work that way in larger markets. I looked at the South Bend Tribune this past week after the Notre Dame women lost a game they were expected to win.

The headline was, "It's easy beating green." Catchy, clever and cutting. The story was curt and unapologetic.

Our sports guys are expected to sugar coat things a bit more, I think, and for the most part, they do.

But this season the Tigers weren't doing well and that came out in our coverage.

Let me go on record right now as saying I don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of Tiger basketball or any other kind of basketball.

And I don't have - nor am I qualified to have - an opinion on the Tiger basketball coach.

I am not defending anybody's opinion. I am simply defending their right to have an opinion.

I would also like to point out that there are no bad people in all this.

I have never had a conversation with the coach. But I am confident that he is a good person. I am sure he is a wonderful husband and father. I understand he is respected in his school, his church and his community.

I've known Hubler for more than seven years. He's not a bad person either.

Hubler has the opinion the coach isn't the best fit for Tiger basketball.

He didn't say the coach was a bad person. He doesn't think the coach is a bad person. He's known the coach since middle school.

It seems, however, that some letter writers missed that crucial point. Most letters followed the theme that the coach is a good person and how dare Hubler criticize him.

Well, Warsaw, I have to say, you've set yourself up for this kind of thing.

After all, you have a 5,000-seat gymnasium. You have a history of one of the most storied basketball programs in the state. You have a state championship.

This coach has some pretty big shoes to fill, footsteps to follow ... insert your favorite clich here.

Lots of people in town - Hubler included - want the Tigers to win.

And when the Tigers don't, well, people tend to get a little testy.

Trust me, the sports editor isn't the only one in town who gets testy about basketball.

And when it comes to basketball, I've seen just how cruel this town can be.

I recall shortly after I started working here - Hubler tells me it was 1989 and 1990, off the top of his head - the girls team lost back-to-back regional games to Columbia City after going undefeated during the regular season.

In both seasons, they beat Columbia City handily during the regular season.

The second year, we had two full newspaper pages of letters to the editor asking for the coach's job.

(It might be interesting at this point to note that the team missed free throws down the stretch that could have won the game. They lost in triple overtime.)

Honestly, this town wanted that coach drawn and quartered. I guess he should have shot the free throws.

I also recall once when then-Sports Editor Barry Lewis wrote a column chastising Tiger fans for what he perceived as naughty behavior. (They were chanting E-I-E-I-O at a Tippecanoe Valley game, wearing bib overalls and taunting players.)

Again, an entire newspaper page full of letters calling for Lewis' head on a platter.

It's amazing what motivates people to write.

I can tell you your taxes are going up. I can tell you there's a child molester in your neighborhood. I can tell you they're building a biodiesel plant in your backyard. I can tell you there is going to be a bazooka coyote hunt on your block.

You won't write.

Let me tell you something about basketball. You'll write.

But after the dust settles and it's time to renew the coach's yearly contract, I am confident the superintendent, the school board and the athletic director will do what's best for Tiger basketball - regardless of what the Times-Union sports editor thinks. [[In-content Ad]]