http://www.newsandtribune.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:22:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_353002233.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_353002233.html Apologies — what is so hard about them?Either you get it and you’re sorry, or you don’t. But they don’t come with clauses and conditions.I had a friend at ESPN who had a sign in her office that said, “Don’t ruin a good apology with an explanation.” That pretty much sums it up. Either you’re sorry or you aren’t. Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:37:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_332003838.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_332003838.html The producer for my radio show at ESPN calls 2007 “The Year of the Scandal.” It is hard to argue with him. We had Michael Vick and dogfighting, an NBA referee betting on games he officiated, former Tour De France winners voluntarily giving back their trophies for doping, and Marion Jones not so voluntarily giving her titles back for doping.Also, we had more and more evidence stacking up to lead to an indictment against Barry Bonds for steroid use, the Patriots being levied the largest fine in the history of the league for “Spygate,” and top tennis players accused of throwing matches. Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:19:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_313002045.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_313002045.html By beating Ball State last Saturday, they are bowl eligible. But I fear there will be a lot of six-win teams left home. The tiebreaker could be how well the teams travel (bowl games, after all, are first and foremost about making money), and IU is not known as a great “travel” team when it comes to football. Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:07:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_297000952.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_297000952.html We are used to seeing angry posts on sports Web sites. This, above all, seems to be the modus operandi of sports and sports coverage now. Wed, 10 Oct 2007 01:46:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_283014852.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_283014852.html My brother Jim used to like to tell this story. When he was about nine years old, he and our older brother Nick, who was about 12 at the time, went to Yankee Stadium for one of the first times by themselves (I can't imagine the same woman, who raised me under such scrutiny in the relative hinterlands that was Long Island at that time, allowed my two brothers to take the subway from our home in Queens to the Bronx — by themselves — to see a baseball game, but she did.) Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:17:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_255001706.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_255001706.html There are many reasons I like living here in Southern Indiana and I just got one more on Monday, and a memorable experience along the way.Many golf fans know the name Pete Dye. He is one of the premier golf course designers in history, and at 81 years of age, is still a single digit handicapper. Tue, 04 Sep 2007 23:24:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_247232436.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_247232436.html There are plenty of situations in life that seem to call for posing. You can’t go to an art gallery and simply blurt out, “I don’t get it.” You can’t listen to the obscure references of a Sheryl Crow or the late Jim Morrison of a generation ago, and openly point out that the lyrics make no sense. Tue, 14 Aug 2007 23:33:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_226233306.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_226233306.html Tue, 19 Jun 2007 22:46:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_170224610.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_170224610.html OMAHA, Neb. — I used to wonder why there seemed to be such a cynicism from people who cover sports for a living. I mean most of them would tell you they got into it because they loved sports, perhaps played them growing up, and yet seem so jaded once they got “inside.” Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:51:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_163225427.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_163225427.html Last week, I told you about the many lessons I learned during the experience of kicking in an actual Arena League Game for the Louisville Fire. Tue, 05 Jun 2007 23:00:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_156225946.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_156225946.html Tue, 08 May 2007 23:28:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_128232802.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_128232802.html I once made the comment that I think there are truly only about 200 people in the world. They just move around a lot. It seems that if you take about 10 minutes to start a discussion, or do some research, you find links that seem to defy odds, which can only be explained by my theory. Thu, 26 Apr 2007 11:22:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_114224310.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_114224310.html My relatives used to tell me, before I was born, that it wasn’t unusual for members of the Brooklyn Dodger baseball team to be seen in the local establishments, perhaps the grocery or the drugstore. These players were far from millionaires and often conducted their business in an everyday manner — just like the fans who watched them play. Wed, 11 Apr 2007 00:08:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_101000942.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_101000942.html In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?” Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:39:00 +0000 http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_086223847.html http://www.newsandtribune.com/valvanocolumns/local_story_086223847.html It is the late 1960’s and the college coach gets a call from his brother, who is a high school coach. The call concerns a player the high school coach has seen and thinks might make a good college player.