STEVE HANLON: What a way to go out young man

FRANKLIN | Don't you get tired of turning on ESPN's SportsCenter a lot? The same old police blotter updates from spoiled, overpaid athletes who treat the average Joe like dirt and belittle those in the stands.

STEVE HANLON: What it means to believe

INDIANAPOLIS | It was January. It was cold outside. It was even frostier inside the home of Portage's Lauren Murray. Deep pain and doubts about the future were one thing.

STEVE HANLON: It's Ladies Night at Indy Ben Davis

PORTAGE | In looking at the 2013 state softball media package, there is something different, trending among the eight programs that will fight for state championships today.

STEVE HANLON: The man behind the mission

CEDAR LAKE | Larry McMillen is like the absent-minded professor of region softball. His resume is like bin Laden, hard to find, perhaps hidden in some cave somewhere.

STEVE HANLON: Johnson family put West Side back on map

Lonnie Johnson had a tough decision in middle school. He felt like his future hung in the balance. His choice could determine it all.

STEVE HANLON: This could be a first, lastly

In recent years I've made bold, cocky predictions about how the region softball teams would do in the postseason. I've picked three or four teams getting to Indianapolis in the past, and I've been right.

STEVE HANLON: Don't let these 'Days' slip away

This weekend, while many of us are in long lines looking to purchase chocolate hearts, candied roses and cards written by some stranger in the Philippines, or we stand in line for three hours on Sunday to have an hour-long lunch, Diane and Morgan Cavinder will be doing Mother's Day weekend o…

STEVE HANLON: This is one tax plan I agree with

MUNSTER | I am not a politician. Nor do I play one on television.

STEVE HANLON: What it takes to get to the top

In 1977 Lisa Sanchez walked into East Chicago Washington as a semi-lost ninth-grader. The 5-foot-1 youngster had never before dribbled or shot a basketball.

STEVE HANLON: 'Stepping down' on the critics

For all you knuckle-draggers crawling out of your caves, here is a sentence for you. And for all you Nike-wearing troglodytes, this applies to you, too.

STEVE HANLON: Plastic grass ready to Oiler Up

About 11 or 12 years ago, when I was writing for the Indianapolis Star, I got a call that got my blood boiling.

STEVE HANLON: Dusting off a boys hoops notebook

All good things must come to an end, a famous philosopher once said. And rightly so, I must add.

STEVE HANLON: Bowman is ready for 3A

INDIANAPOLIS | It's not like the complaints and harsh words about Bowman Academy's boys basketball program have been stated in a vacuum.

STEVE HANLON: This is Dillard Time

GARY | It's like Michelangelo doing graffiti on an old wall at a Gary gas station that went out of business six years ago. Or Bob Dylan singing a remake of a Katy Perry ditty.

STEVE HANLON: Shakespeare in Chuck Taylors

HUNTINGTON | It's a question that's been asked for the past 103 years. Philosophy and Hoosier Hysteria have gone hand-in-hand since the high school tournament began.

STEVE HANLON: Bowman will go to 3A with a win

There's something special, even loveable, about Hoosier Hysteria. This craziness has been selling tickets for 103 years. Many people have timed their lives by this tourney.

STEVE HANLON: Region hoopsters hope to be regional spoilers

It shouldn't be a shock that there is a strong connection between the best basketball players in Northwest Indiana. Summer hoops has been bringing people together for a long time.