Metering is ON

hutton

Mike Hutton

Mike Hutton has been writing a sports column for the Post-Tribune since 1998. He has been honored as a top 10 columnist nationally by the …Read More

Search recent columns

More Columns

  • Hutton: Need answers? Get them here

    The Answer Man is back. He’s been underground for the last five years or so, expanding his wealth of sports knowledge. He’s here today because he knows you have questions and he has the answers. Why all the hysteria about Edison Learning shutting down athletic …Read More

  • Hutton: Time to push IHSAA for 3-class tourney

    I’ve never quite understood why the IHSAA commissioner couldn’t stand for something other than what his members wanted and why the last two haven’t recognized what is generally accepted by the majority of the coaches and athletic directors: That the four-class tournament system in basketball …Read More

  • Hutton: Cunningham sees bright future for Andrean point guard Gonzalez

    Andrean coach Carson Cunningham has the best point guard in Northwest Indiana — in his own, unfiltered view. Take it for what it’s worth because there are plenty of good ones out there (Dean Danos of Bishop Noll and Tye Wilbon of Lake Central come …Read More

  • Hutton: Meet Twitter’s latest victim

    I have joyously (with contempt, derision and utter skepticism) leaped head-first into the wide-open, exhilarating (completely insane, chaotic and mostly irrelevant) world of Twitterdom. My next-to-last tweet was on Friday night to my 7,000 (70) followers about LaPorte beating Merrillville 71-69 in overtime in a …Read More

  • Weather allowing golfers to play through

    MERRILLVILLE — It’s 9:22 a.m. when I pull into Turkey Creek Golf Course. The sign outside reads 42 degrees and it’s Jan. 10. The weatherman says it’s supposed to reach 50. Fifty frigging degrees in the dead of winter in Northwest Indiana. Incredible considering the …Read More

  • Hutton: Bartow made friends every step of the way

    The Gene Bartow I’ll remember: Always picked up his own landline phone, usually on the second or third ring. Didn’t have a reason in the world to be courteous or take my calls, but was way beyond gracious and friendly and nice when I called. …Read More

  • No signs of progress for ND offense

    ORLANDO, Fla. — The crystal ball is pretty muddy for Notre Dame right now. Year 2 of the Brian Kelly rebuilding project ended with a whimper. The great quarterback grab bag — alternating a mediocre quarterback with an even more mediocre quarterback — was a …Read More

  • Hutton: Don’t expect fireworks in ND-FSU clash

    ORLANDO, Fla. — Deconstructing Notre Dame’s chances against Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl. The QB conundrum It just has such an odd feel going into it and it’s clearly the reason coaches don’t generally employ a two-quarterback system — at least not the …Read More

  • Hutton: Brey, Irish out of sync right now

    INDIANAPOLIS — What does a professional golfer do on the third hole when his round blows up with a quadruple bogey on the second hole? Unless he’s John Daley, who finds his pack of Marlboro Lights and heads out to the courtesy car in the …

  • Hutton: Some high school sports myths

    I can’t muster outrage against the Indiana High School Athletic Association for its inconsistent enforcement of the transfer rule for athletic purposes. There are so many reasons kids switch schools — family situations, they really do move for athletic purposes but they do it legitimately, …Read More

  • Hutton: Rice likes what he sees in ND’s Golson

    It’s pretty clear where Tony Rice’s heart is when he speaks about who should play quarterback at Notre Dame — at least in time.   That would be freshman Everett Golson, mostly a clip board holder and sideline signal caller for the Irish this year.  …

    Hutton: Drew, Vujic meet again today

    It’s been 13 years since Scott Drew pulled in an epic recruiting class — for Valparaiso University standards — while working as an assistant for the Crusaders. Among the players that enrolled that year — the season after they made the Sweet 16 — were …

  • Hutton: Crist benching will haunt Kelly

    I expect him to be the starter for 13 weeks. I have great confidence in his leadership ability.” “Quite honestly, he’s the kind of guy I want to coach. He’s tougher mentally and he handles the leadership position the way I want it handled.” “He …Read More

  • Hutton: Danger doesn’t stop us from loving football

    This is a list of serious injuries that football players at Notre Dame have suffered since spring practice: running back Cameron Roberson (“severe” knee injury according to Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly), defensive end Kapron Lewis Moore (ACL), tight end Mike Ragone (ACL), running back …

  • Hutton: Lack of D-I interest in Dieter puzzling

    SOUTH BEND — I’ll never completely understand the art of college football recruiting. I covered Lowell and Fort Wayne Dwenger in a semistate game in 2007 and John Goodman, a highly prized, highly publicized, 6-3, 207-pound wide receiver/quarterback for Dwenger, had already committed to Notre …Read More

  • Hutton: Dieter, Perkins the difference between Morton, Washington

    HAMMOND — Alfred Dickey was not afraid. He was not tight. He was not intimidated. He just got beat — a few times, which was too be expected. “We were trash talking all night,” he said of his matchup against Gehrig Dieter, the career leader …

    Hutton: Results vary for players at prep schools

    For every Mitch McGary story — local kid struggling with grades and injuries finds basketball stardom when he moves onto prep school, where he focuses his immense skills, buckles down in the classroom, gets his own blog on ESPN and then becomes a top-ranked player …