Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
It’s another week of thoughts among multiple topics. I have nothing pithy, no one- or two-liners, but my thoughts, again, aren’t singular this week.
L.A. Lakers’ star, LeBron James, whose presence on any NBA team almost guarantees the franchise will have a “big three” passed on a move to the Dallas Mavericks, where Kyrie Irving, 3-point shooting machine Klay Thompson, and Kyrie Irving would have welcomed his arrival.
LeBron took the money, and will pay the California income tax accompanying it, and stayed in Los Angeles instead.
James appeared with Irving in four straight NBA finals (all against the Golden State Warriors – whom Klay Thompson played for in that stretch), and hoisted championship hardware in the 2015-2016 season.
James also hoisted another O’Brien NBA championship trophy in the bubble season of 2020 with the aforementioned Davis while the two teamed up for the Lakers.
LeBron has been an impact player since he entered the league in October 2003, established himself as more of a giver although he could score at will, and won titles while playing among three different franchises.
What’s left for him? I certainly cannot blame him for staying in Los Angeles where he has easier access to build his brand after his NBA career. Dallas is also a great city to call home, and Texas still has zero income tax (but good luck with the double-digit sales and use tax percentage). Nonetheless, I imagine his wife and children have become very accustomed to the perks of living in the city of angels.
It looks like, though, the Lakers’ front office will get the final say on what happens with LeBron.
A trade? Retirement? What else?
The new ownership group, who currently own the L.A. Dodgers used the draft to develop talent and played the long game on strengthening that MLB franchise. It’s only a matter of time before some moves are made in the same manner as the Lakers to add more banners to their arena’s rafters.
NFL training camp opened this recent week, and the big talk was about Chicago Bears new head coach (and former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator) Ben Johnson taking second-year quarterback Caleb Williams to the woodshed as the 2024 overall number one draft pick struggled with Johnson’s offense.
Johnson is another one of a handful of more recent head coaches (Miami’s Mike McDaniel, San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan, Denver’s Sean Payton) who – regardless of how well you’ve demonstrated and ability to ad-lib in the pocket – want you to run… their… offense.
If your name isn’t Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders) or Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens), you stick to the script. Even those two fellas I mentioned still have a prescribed list of choices running their team’s offensive schemes on the field.
Speaking of the Commanders, it seems like some people who take up a lot of oxygen in the news are calling for Washington’s NFL franchise, and Cleveland’s MLB franchise to return to their respective names:
The Redskins and the Indians.
While their moves to the current names were recent, these people seem oblivious to the costs for rebranding. Additionally, most of the general public (Cleveland fans the least thrilled) have taken to the new names reasonably well without a torch and pitchfork march through their cities’ streets.
It looks like from a broader view, the franchises at all levels – high school, collegiate, professional who wanted to change their teams’ names/mascots already have, and the others have kept theirs in place.
Earlier, about 10-15 years ago, companies like adidas ™ were offering incentives for these changes. The Goshen RedHawks received a notable chunk of funds to change their mascot and team name. South Bend Saint Joseph became the Huskies during the final month of 2024’s winter sports season.
Portage and Lake Central (Indians), and Knox (Redskins) maintain their monikers to this day.
I’m looking forward to college football more than I was at this time last year after seeing how well the College Football Playoff (CFP) worked. I was skeptical, but I didn’t mind being wrong about how things went last season.
The Ohio State Buckeyes’ earning the first CFP title notwithstanding, other aspects (playing on home fields of the higher seeds), weekend/prime time action not encroaching the NFL season, and the fact a team could still have a chance to be seeded in playoffs even after losing a ballgame are all welcome features to the new setup.
This sure beats the hell out of the Beef O ’Brady Bowl and other pathetic matchups that basically gave way too many teams the extra four weeks of practice they tended to use to prepare for the next season.
The Warsaw Tigers’ gridiron program hosted a four-team round robin mini scrimmage to facilitate the training and certification of IHSAA football officials last two days ago.
Portage, Muncie, Tippecanoe Valley and the Tigers switch sides of the ball and sides of the field in a prop-pads environment that started and ended with remarks and instructions by Warsaw head coach Bart Curtis and IHSAA official par excellence Terry Leak (he also is the associate coach for IU South Bend’s women’s NAIA hoopsters).
The action took about 1 hour and 52 minutes with frequent hydration breaks followed by the aforementioned closing gathering at midfield, then a free meal for each team in order of travel distance.
I’ve heard Coach Curtis say, “leaders eat last” before, and the hosts ate last in this case, continuing Warsaw’s demonstration year in and year out of gracious hosting, and a sincere drive to make all of Indiana high school football better, not just the local action and area programs.
This clinic has featured – in past years – teams from Hammond, Garrett, and the Fort Wayne area to name a few participants.
It also gets me excited to see these guys in their final opportunity to identify risks and opportunities for the upcoming regular season. Official IHSAA football practices take place on Monday August 4 for the 2025 gridiron campaign.
The Valley Vikings showcased some athletes that will make their regular season worth the price of admission, too.
If you’re in the area, admission is free, and on the fourth Thursday of each July, the Tigers host this event with a full concession stand offering in a great facility. It’s a chance to see a new bunch of kids prepare for football while you get your live action fix if mid-August is still too long to wait to see high school football.
Best wishes to each of these four teams who offered their time and energy facilitating the training and certification of area football officials.
