Starting tomorrow, the Daily Times no longer will publish a Friday edition.

People ask me how I feel about that. Sad. That’s how I feel.

You know what else I’m sad about? Glad you asked. I’m sad that no longer on Friday and Saturday evenings can I walk a couple of blocks south on 9th Street from my sister’s house and attend my favorite cowboy movies at the local downtown theaters. I’m sad that I no longer have an opportunity on Saturday mornings to meet with my friends at Hutson’s Drug Store on Conner Street. I’m sad that on evenings when my mom and dad work at the A&P Super Market in downtown Noblesville that I can’t go to Lawson’s Cafeteria and get my favorite meal of noodles, mashed potatoes and baked beans.

Times change. They call it progress. And, by golly, most often when times change they change for the better.

No Friday edition aside, the Daily Times still will publish the best, the most complete, the most exciting sports section of any newspaper in this area.

Nothing will be missing. The ONLY difference is that you’ll get Thursday’s news in a gigantic Saturday edition which also, of course, will include all the Friday night action.

This Saturday, for example, we’ll report from Friday on nine boys’ high school basketball games and one girls’ basketball game and then we’ll report on five girls basketball games and the start of two great girls swim sectionals from Thursday.

While I’ve suggested to you that nothing will be different, it will. Each year since the Daily Times began publishing we’ve added new features to the sports pages.

You hear from others that little is better. I’ve never believed that, except for my weight, which isn’t little now days. Litte? Do you want a mini hamburger or a half bottle of your favorite soft drink?

The Daily Times’ sports section has never been little. Full pages with enough space to give you complete reports on your team and all the other teams in Hamilton County. Full pages with enough space for large (and many) photos. Full pages to give you everything the other guys give you, plus more.
Before I began writing this column I looked through last week’s sports section to make certain I knew what I would write about. What’s different in the Daily Times?

- On Monday, we had four (full) pages of sports, including a team photo of the Hamilton Heights boys swim team which won the conference championship.

-  On Tuesday, we had a story on the Noblesville High bowling team. That’s something you didn’t read in the little guy’s newspaper. We also had our girls and boys basketball pages, complete with reports on what’s coming up during the week and also complete updates on all basketball conferences involving Hamilton County teams. We published Hamilton County girls basketball stat leaders - On Wednesday, we had our college page and our hockey page. The college page had a story on Southeastern grad Dexter Hinkle who has walked on to the Ball State basketball team. We had our college notes, informing you on what Hamilton County kids are doing at the college ranks. Our hockey coverage is unmatched. While other newspapers in the area give you little hockey coverage, we give you a page every week.

- On Thursday, we published individual previews of every boys basketball game (for all nine teams) coming up during the weekend.

-  On Friday, we published a full page previewing the wrestling sectionals and we published Hamilton County boys basketball stats leaders. We also ran one of our three columnists, former Noblesville High School coach Dave Nicholson. I’m beginning to think Nick missed his calling. The Hall of Fame coach should have been a sports writer.

- On Saturday, our pages were loaded with high school basketball coverage (on all Hamilton County teams), but not so loaded that we didn’t have space for a lengthy report on local bowling, plus columns by Billy Shepherd and Bayou Bill. Billy, the former Carmel Mr. Basketball, writes a column on parenting. Bayou Bill, state-wide, has written wildlife columns for years and years and years.
That’s progress.

If you miss us on Fridays (and, I know you will), simply go to our Web site for results of the events held Thursday evening.

Golly, I miss going to Hutson’s, but I sure in the heck enjoy having three or four coffee houses in the area.  That’s kind of what the Daily Times’ sports section is, three or four coffee shops. We’re big. Real big. I don’t want to be little. If we were little I wouldn’t feel good about asking for your 50 cents.