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Tiger Girls' Hoop Team Searching For Stability

Will Wienhorst is asked to describe the basketball season after nine games in one word. "Up and down," he said."Is that one word?" No, but it'll work. After all, that's what his players have done all season.It hasn't always been pretty, but they've made things work.That's why his girls have a 7-2 record. They trailed a Concord team that was 3-4 at the time 26-23 at halftime.They won 59-46. They fell behind traditionally strong Columbia City 22-16 at halftime.They won 45-44. They held a tired 12-9 halftime lead over a .500 Plymouth team.They won 50-38. That's the way Warsaw's last three games have gone.It's more like down and up, not up and down.The Tiger offense sleeps in the first half, attacks the second half.
Jeff Holsinger, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

This Particular Amendment Isn't Needed

I've been listening to all the twaddle about an amendment to the U.S.Constitution ensuring 'victims' rights.' I think it's a bad idea. I generally think it's a bad idea to fool around with the U.S.Constitution unless there is some dire or urgent need. Victims' rights doesn't seem to throw up any dire or urgent red flags. And if you remember, the last time it came up was in 1996.Isn't it ironic that these feel-good, "Ah feel yer poin" issues come up in direct correlation to the general election cycle? In 1996, both Bill Clinton and Bob Dole thought it was a good idea.It wasn't then and it isn't now. Advocates - including W - always seem to say something like, "Well, the Constitution protects the rights of criminals, so we should protect the rights of victims, too." That sounds great, but it's really not accurate.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

The Absurdity Of Tobacco Litigation

OK, this tobacco thing is completely out of control. I have long been a critic of these tobacco settlements.To me, it is akin to legislation via litigation. If Congress wants to ban tobacco, fine.It should ban tobacco. But, of course, Congress will never ban tobacco.Government profits too much from it. Tobacco is taxed like crazy.The government is as dependent on tobacco revenue as smokers are dependent on nicotine. In fact, I bet it would be easier for everybody in the country to stop smoking than it would be to wean the government off tobacco revenue. Of course all those taxes are over and above tobacco profits.The taxes don't come out of the pockets of the tobacco companies, they come out of the pockets of consumers. You know, all those people Bill Clinton likes to talk about when he says things like, "Ah feel yer poin." I guess he feels it while simultaneously contributing to it. But I digress.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Here's The Real Issue

I have been paying close attention to the presidential campaign and listening to what W and John Kerry consider important. This is not to say thatÊwhat they're talking about - terrorism, economy, jobs, war, health care - isn't important. But I think there's an issue that is more important that they're not talking about. Frankly, it tops terrorism as my No.1 concern.I know that terrorism is bad.I know it is important that we remain safe. But honestly, my risk of succumbing to terrorism runs in the same range of odds as my winning the U.S.Open.Frankly, I probably have a better shot at the Open. And I have a job and health insurance.I know lots of people don't have those things and I think it's important to help people who are truly in need. But the one thing that really concerns me - the thing that seems most ominous to me - is the impending U.S.debt disaster. And I can't believe politicians ignore it the way they do.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Republicans' Future Not So Bright

I - and apparently millions of other Americans - have come to a not-so-startling conclusion: Congress is functionally corrupt. In a recent poll, when asked if they thought Congress was corrupt, 50 percent of respondents said yes. Fifty-eight percent of respondents said Congress was more focused on special interests than their constituents. Seventy-five percent said Congress was out of touch with the average American. These results are not startling because of the way the Republicans have completely squandered any moral or ethical authority they may have had as a majority party in both houses of Congress.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Local Man Works For His Cause

Martt Clupper, of Warsaw, is a man on a mission. He's the organizer of an event that's coming up in August.It's the first of what Clupper hopes will become the annual Pro-Life Music Festival. The thing that makes Clupper unique is that he isn't really a pro-life activist. He believes very strongly in the cause, but he isn't a member of any pro-life organization. In his words, "I am a 38-year-old Christian man with a wife and two stepchildren and I want to make a difference for the betterment of our society." He saw recent surges in the popularity and quality of "Christian contemporary music" as a perfect way to reach people with a pro-life message. "The project came from nowhere and just really covered me up," he says."I couldn't get out from under it." Clupper started working on the idea last December with his wife and another couple, Mark and Angel Hall. He is quick to point out that this is absolutely not a pro-life rally.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Manchester 'D' Frustrates Triton Attack

BOURBON - Manchester girls basketball coach Jody Shewman wasn't worried about what happened in the second half against Triton Thursday.Maybe just a little concerned. After dominating the Trojans for a 31-19 halftime lead, the two teams battled to a 31-31 tie over the final two quarters for a 62-50 Squire win.Not bad, but Shewman was expecting the same effort the Squires had in the first 16 minutes. "In the first half, I thought we played very well," Shewman said."In the second half, we didn't.We got a little content.Things got a little rough in the second half.It started going their way.We just got laid back, and we can't afford to do that." The Trojans on the other hand picked up the intensity, especially in the fourth quarter.Triton cut a 20-point margin, 52-32, to 10 points when Jessica Kintzel got a rebound and a layup for a 54-44 game with three minutes left.
Greg Jones, Times-Union Sports Editor- | July 28, 2016

Tippecanoe Valley Boys Escape With 50-41 Win Over Rochester

AKRON-Listening to Tippecanoe Valley head coach Bill Patrick talk after Friday night's contest, you get the feeling the game film may get shredded like Enron documents.The Vikings overcame a lackluster performance to garner a conference victory over Rochester 50-41. "They weren't ready to play mentally," said Patrick of his team's effort."We were a step or two late and we weren't aggressive inside." That showed early on as 6-foot-6 sophomore Shane Drudge struggled with double teams by players several inches smaller.His fellow classmate 6-foot-4 David Lash was marginally better but struggled as well. A spark for Valley was found in junior Shane Denny.Patrick will readily admit that Denny can start if he chooses but Friday night Denny decided to come in off the bench.Much like Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson of the Detroit Pistons' "Bad Boys," he heated things up.
Daniel Riordan, TImes-Union Sports Correspondent- | July 28, 2016

Lady Lancers Lose Conference Opener

MISHAWAKA - With just eight players available for head coach Lori Wynn, the Grace College women's basketball team has had to find creative ways to win basketball games. In the Lady Lancers' last four games, the team has won three times, playing nothing but zone defense. That zone defense has frustrated opponents during the streak.IPFW launched 48 three-pointers in a late December game with Grace.Indiana Tech was held to 19 first-half points and 19 percent shooting in the first half in a loss to the Lancers Monday night. However, Bethel College found a way to crack the zone Wednesday night in a 69-60 victory over the Lady Lancers in the Mid-Central Conference opener for both teams.The Pilots are receiving votes in the NAIA Division II poll and have a legitimate shot at second place in the conference, behind NAIA No.1 St.Francis.
Jason Knavel, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Tippecanoe Valley Vikings Hold Off Pesky Comets

AKRON - Tippecanoe Valley coach Bill Patrick picked up his 500th career win Friday with a win over Northfield.The win brought a lot of pressure to his team as well as a lot of hoopla. Knowing Patrick needed only one win, his basketball team put a lot of pressure on themselves to win Friday night's game.With that pressure, the Vikings also use a lot of energy Friday. Heading into Saturday night's matchup against non-conference foe Caston, you could almost sense that the Vikings would be a little tired and slugginsh.Sluggish they were to open this game. "Last night there was a lot of pressure on our kids to win," said Patrick, referring to his 500th win."It is really hard to handle for 16-17-year-old kids, it took a lot out of them." Even with the sluggish start, the Vikings still found a way to win, as good teams usually do.The Vikings edged the Comets (5-5) 53-44 to raise their record to 9-3.
Craig Helfrich, Times-Union Sports Correspondent- | July 28, 2016

Tigers Split At Own Tourney

It might not have been any prettier, but it was certainly better for Warsaw. After suffering an ugly 48-27 loss to Perry Meridian in the first round of the Tiger Tourney Saturday, Warsaw bounced back with a 49-45 win over Mt.Vernon in the consolation game. The Tigers turned the ball over against the Perry Meridian press 35 times and against Mt.Vernon didn't fare much better with 30 miscues.But the Tiger defense stepped up in the consolation game and held Mt.Vernon to 18 of 60 (30 percent) from the field and held off Mt.Vernon in the fourth quarter. The win snapped a two-year winless streak in their own tourney for the Tigers.
Greg Jones, Times-Union Sports Editor- | July 28, 2016

Republicans Aren't The Only Corrupt Ones

Republicans are the party of corruption, right? Isn't that the rhetoric that we were assailed with by Democrats for months leading up to the election? Isn't that what helped propel Democrats to the majority in the U.S.House and Senate? Nancy Pelosi, the Democrat from California, is poised to make history in January.She will be the first female U.S.Speaker of the House of Representatives, the highest level of elective office ever achieved by a woman in the U.S. She already made history when, a few years back, she became the first woman to lead a party caucus. She's a smart lady. She said Democrats "intend to lead the most honest, the most open and the most ethical Congress in history." So the first thing she does is nominate John Murtha for majority leader. You may remember Murtha, of Pennsylvania, as the unindicted co-conspirator in Abscam - short for Arab Scam - an FBI sting operation in 1980.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Vikings Kick Game Away With Foul Shooting On Free Throws

AKRON -ÊSteve McClure emerged from the locker room, a can of Sprite in his right hand and a small brown bag of food in his left. While Southwood's boys basketball coach brown-bagged it, his team delivered a blue-collar, lunch-pail, hard-hat effort in erasing a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit in Saturday's game at Tippecanoe Valley. His players got the game into overtime, and once they did, they stepped on Valley's throat, something the Vikings never did to Southwood in the fourth. Southwood missed no shots and scored 20 points in the four-minute overtime to beat Valley 76-67 on Saturday. The loss dealt Valley's hopes of winning the Three Rivers Conference title outright a serious blow.Valley entered 9-3 overall and at 3-0, the only team without a TRC loss.Now Valley falls into a four-way first-place tie with Southwood, Manchester and Oak Hill, each 3-1.Southwood moves to 8-2 overall.
Jeff Holsinger, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

So You Think You Have Problems

With each passing day this week, the news from New Orleans just keeps getting worse. At first, on Monday morning, it seemed as if Katrina had weakened enough to spare a major disaster on the Gulf Coast. But it didn't take long Monday to realize that this was a very grave situation indeed. By Tuesday, it was clear that this was a catastrophe - a disaster of epic proportions. By Thursday, I was able to view digital satellite photos of New Orleans before and after Katrina. The damage illustrated in those photos - found on digitalglobe.com - is unimaginable. Thousands and thousands of homes and businesses under water in New Orleans.Miles and miles of coastline wiped clean by storm surge. Entire coastal towns flattened and swept away. The scope of the damage is incredible.The storm surge was measured at 29 feet, the largest in history.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Warriors Wake Up Vs. Vikings

MENTONE - The defining moment of Thursday's girls basketball game between Wawasee and Valley came on the first play of the second half. Trailing 23-20, Tippecanoe Valley got onto the floor first after the break and set up under the Wawasee basket.The Warriors, who stepped onto the floor late, just assumed that they were playing defense on that side of the floor.However, when Valley inbounded the ball to Rhonda Doud, she simply turned around and walked in for an easy basket to cut the lead to one point. However, Wawasee woke up after that play and went on a 10-1 run to take a 33-23 lead and held off Valley late for the 51-43 victory that pulled the Warriors to .500 on the season with their second straight win. Valley did a good job on Wawasee leading scorer Lydia Carpenter, holding her to 10 points, six of those in the second quarter, and four rebounds.According to Wawasee head coach Mark Sumpter, Carpenter didn't have much of a chance to accomplish much inside.
Jason Knavel, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Federal Worker In Hot Water Over Sex

You probably never heard of Barbara Battalino. I hadn't either until Rich Burkett popped in with some information about her. You may remember Burkett.The Warsaw resident ran for Congress against Tim Roemer a couple times.He lost. Of all the politicians or would-be politicians I have known, Burkett has about the best grasp of the issues. You may not agree with what Burkett says, but he can back it up.If you get into a political argument with Burkett, you will likely lose. And he knows more about the workings of Congress than most congressmen. So anyway, Burkett brings me this little ditty about this Battalino woman and I think it is worth sharing with our readers.So I surfed up an article on the Internet written by Nicole LeFavour for the Boise Weekly. Here goes: Barbara Battalino is a psychiatrist. She worked in a Veterans Administration hospital in Boise, Idaho.
GARY GERARD, Times-Union Managing Editor- | July 28, 2016

Tigers, Warriors In Final Game

Warsaw's softball team went 2-0 in sectional games Saturday, thanks to timely hitting, solid defense and Rachel Liebsch's right arm. The Tigers won both games by 5-1 scores.They beat Rochester (11-10) in the morning, then beat Tippecanoe Valley (7-15) in the second round in the afternoon.Wawasee squeezed out a 6-5 eight-inning win over NorthWood between those two games, as a tripleheader was played at Lady Tiger Field. Wawasee (8-15), the defending champion, and Warsaw (15-12) will meet in the sectional championship at Lady Tiger Field at 5 p.m.Tuesday. Liebsch pitched a combined 11 2/3 innings in the two games, allowing just three hits and one unearned run.She struck out 10 while walking one. She had help - the Tiger defense committed only two errors in the two seven-inning games. Liebsch dominated as a starter.
Jeff Holsinger, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Wawasee Golfers Look To Win For Coach

SYRACUSE - When Wawasee's golf team competes at the state meet for the first time in school history Wednesday, there will be a big change in the coaching staff. Head coach Don Deck, who has worked to bring the program to where it is for the past five years, will not be at the state meet because of health concerns.Stepping into his spot at the meet will be assistant coach Steve Dodds and his right-hand man will now be Terry Skaggs. Deck has missed three matches this year because of varying heart problems, and while his health will be on the minds of his five golfers at the state meet, the "win one for the Gipper" mentality will be a factor.
Jason Knavel, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Tigers Walk To Win

Craig Helfrich doubled as a spin doctor this week. He had his regular duties of coaching Warsaw's softball team on the field in the sectional.Off the field, he had to persuade his players they could beat sectional heavyweight 23-5-1 Elkhart Memorial. So Helfrich created a bunker mentality for his team.Us against the world.Nobody is giving us respect.Nobody believes we can beat Elkhart Memorial.Prove the doubters wrong. Publicly, Helfrich mentioned often how everyone already had handed Elkhart Memorial the sectional title.Privately, he told his players they had a good chance to knock off Memorial. Warsaw, now 19-11, stunned the heavyweight with a 2-1 win in Tuesday's second-round game.
Jeff Holsinger, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016

Warsaw Avenges Losses To Elkhart

Brent Wildman likes to talk about courage. When the coach watched his soccer team erase a 1-0 halftime deficit to win 2-1 over Elkhart Central, he saw the courage it took for his team to come from behind. Before yesterday, Warsaw had never beaten Elkhart. Two years ago, Elkhart wiped Warsaw's home field up with the Tigers, winning 5-0.The Blue Blazers handed the Tigers a loss, yes. They also ruined the debut of girls soccer at Warsaw. Warsaw closed the gap last year, losing 3-1 to the Blue Blazers. The Tigers finally solved Elkhart on a hot Wednesday afternoon at the CCAC. "The Elkhart and South Bend teams have great soccer programs," Wildman said."They play year round.They play great competition.We played Elkhart our first game ever, and I remember it well.They scored in the first 30 seconds.It was kind of a flukish thing.
Jeff Holsinger, Times-Union Staff Writer- | July 28, 2016
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