By MIKE HUTSELL
I’m happy to report something in this week’s version of “The Dish.”
Last Friday night, Medora basketball won a basketball game. It was the first time in a very long time that has happened. In fact the last time was Jan. 11, 2008, a stretch of 36 consecutive games. It was the first career varsity win for head coach Marty Young.
Why am I taking time to report this bit of information in a newspaper that publishes in Clark and Floyd counties?
Well, simple.
Because last month a much larger newspaper than the one you are reading right now, The New York Times, saw fit to profile the struggling basketball program in Jackson County.
To say the story painted tiny Medora in a less than flattering light is what people commonly refer to as an understatement.
While I’m sure there’s economic struggles and smalltown strife like many in Indiana, the way “the Times” portrayed Medora as drug-riddled and struggling with basic concepts of literacy and basic human decency was an abomination of journalism.
I don’t know Marty Young or know much about him (other than the fact he is a fellow Franklin College alum). I hope that the portrayal his town and his team took in this country’s largest newspaper does not hinder what he hopes to achieve and build with his program at tiny Medora High School — although I’ve been told by friends that there has been negative ramifications directly tied to what some on the Internet are simple referring to as “the article.”
OK, on to my New York Times edition of the picks.
TUESDAY’S GAMES
• New Washington 61, Crothersville 50: Crothersville sits dangerously close to Medora. So hopefully a full-scale gang turf war doesn’t break out before the Mustangs can get out of town.
• Silver Creek 60, Crawford County 53: The Wolfpack’s three wins this season have come against teams that have won a combined three games. The Times is immediately investigating Crawford County’s propensity for beating up on the downtrodden and taking their milk money.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
• West Washington 57, Borden 43: Just a hunch, but the Senators may have too much muscle inside for Borden to handle. The Times is set to launch a 13-part series on Borden coach Doc Nash’s refusal to pass the ball to Mike Hutsell in Saturday Morning League. I was wide open, Doc.
• Charlestown 60, Providence 49: What is Charlestown right now? Are the Pirates the team that lost by 23 points against Silver Creek or are they the group that has won their four other games? The Times really doesn’t care. It is set to run an expose on how Pioneer coach Lou Lefevre may be an alien.
• Floyd Central 65, Columbus East 55: The New York Times wants to know, who is Floyd and why is there a high school in Floyds Knobs?
• Lanesville 67, Henryville 58: Winner here officially enters the driver’s seat in the Southern Athletic Conference title race. The Times though is focusing on the Eagles and how they played a road game at Medora and lived to tell their story.
• New Washington 57, Rising Sun 51: In a state full of schools with great nicknames, Rising Sun’s “Shiners” is still one of the best. Of course, The Times thinks the term “Shiners” means black eye and wants to know who is abusing the high school located in Rising Sun, Ind.
• New Albany 78, Seymour 47: The typical Friday night here at the office involves “The Dish” coming back to do page design, wondering if the New Albany game is on the air, turning it on, and hearing Charlie Jenkins say something along the lines of “Hale scores inside and makes it New Albany 18, (this week’s opponent) 4.”
Typical Friday at the New York Times apparently entails finding a down on its luck high school program and making it seem like the community resembles the 1980’s era Miami Hurricane football program.
(Sidebar: If you did not watch ESPN’s documentary on Miami football over the weekend, find a way to do so. It was stellar, one of the best things the network has broadcast in years).
• South Central 66, Christian Academy of Indiana 49: Any astute reader of the New York Times is probably stunned by the news that South Central and Medora are different places. With the roving band of gangs and all the drugs being pushed on the streets of Medora, it would be easy to confuse the smalltown of roughly 600 with South Central Los Angeles.
• Jeffersonville 80, Silver Creek 57: New York Times wants to know if there ever was any silver located in that creek in Sellersburg and if there was, where is it now? Best guess at the answer The Times comes up with, pirates took it all.
SATURDAY’S GAMES
• Bloomington South 71, Jeffersonville 60: New York Times ignores a local team hosting the No. 1 defending state champion and chooses instead to focus on the segregation of high schools in Bloomington. How can we live as a union nationally when even a small city in Indiana can’t have high schools that live in harmony?
• Clarksville 69, Christian Academy 41: New York Times poll has Clarksville Steve neck-and-neck with Jeff’s Cowboy in Indiana’s high school basketball’s greatest fan race.
• Rock Creek 57, New Harmony 49: Like any newspaper should, The New York Times is investigating the origins of the name of Rock Creek guard Shaquille Neptune — simply because that’s just an awesome name.
• Providence 48, Floyd Central 46: All right, I’m out of ideas for ways the New York Times can embellish stories. And I can’t even come up with a good Lou Lefevre line to close this out. So I’ll conclude by simply saying this — yep.
Contact Mike Hutsell at mike.hutsell@newsandtribune.com.
