As school ball officially ends for 2022-23 and the dog days of summer start (at least for the sports guy – apparently the calendar says summer is still 17 days away), I figured it’d be best to hit on a number of topics I’ve been questioned on lately. It only feels fitting to jump around in a column because my coverage is going to be similarly scattered over the next two months. So without further ado, let’s clear out the mailbag and get to work:

Thoughts on co-ADs?

A few people have asked about how the new ADs – Anthony Lippe and Phillip King – will do at WCHS. Personally, I think they’ll be just fine (especially with Todd Willmore still around too for backup). I have immense respect for both Lippe and King and I think they’re perfect fits to carry on after Willmore – one of the most devoted WCHS sports people I’ve been around in the last 13 years – stepped down from the athletic director role.

I’m sure there will be bumps in the road as they hash out responsibilities, but Warren County threaded the needle perfectly. They got an up-and-comer hired (Lippe is just 33) who can run with the job for a long time and they also stayed local with King, who knows plenty about winning as both a player and coach at WCHS.

Tryout tiff

It kind of irked me last week when I let people know about my absence from one tryout in town and somehow that got asked about 10 times more than our two-time state champion, but such is life anymore in the reporting game. People say they want to read about winning and upbeat stories, but they really just want the dirt.

If I ever get the Standard sports podcast launched, maybe this will get expanded coverage, but for now I’ll just say that I believe it’s a resolved issue. At the very least, I’m moving forward the same way I always have – I’ll cover sports in Warren County thoroughly and still hope all our teams win every game.

Youth ball coverage

I appreciate the people who reached out Friday to let me know how much they enjoyed the stories on youth sports. Trust me, I’m happy to do it.

While I wish the youth leagues started a little later and ran deeper into July, I also know entire leagues can’t wait for me to have more time to cover. I got a chance to cruise by Centertown Friday and I’ll be making my normal laps at Midway, Morrison and back at Milner Recreation Center soon.

In the meantime, I’ll always encourage people to send pictures for Faces of Warren County. You can reach me directly at sports@southernstandard.com. Please make sure it’s a picture of your own – we cannot accept photos you’ve purchased by the local professionals without their permission.

Baseball fandom

I’ll close by addressing my editor’s jab at me Friday in his column about only starting to like baseball two years ago. Seth, unfortunately, is telling the total truth. I definitely avoided any AP stories about Vandy winning championships and only started following the college game when Drew Gilbert hit a grand slam in the regionals in 2021.

Baseball was dead to me for decades after I got cut at 14 (something my longtime readers already know). I’m slowly coming back to the game, so forgive me for being a bandwagon jumper. With that said, I hope UT plays Vandy in the CWS. Seth and I will brawl in the newsroom if it happens.