COLUMN: New organization to continue print all-state tradition

     At the recent Iowa Newspaper Association (INA) Convention in Des Moines, the INA Board voted to end its practice of selecting all-state teams in four sports.

     But if people were lamenting the end of a decades-long tradition, that of having prep sportswriters select deserving high school athletes for statewide recognition, the end didn’t last long.

     A group of five sportswriters has announced the formation of a new organization, the Iowa Print Sportswriters Association (IPSWA), which will pick up the slack left by the INA.

     “This new organization is being formed to continue a long-standing tradition in print media…sportswriters from Iowa newspapers choosing the all-state teams for football, girls basketball, boys basketball and baseball,” an email from the organization’s founders states.

     The INA’s decision was a little confusing, particularly in this time when print media needs more positive exposure, not less. (For the record, our own co-publisher, Mark Spensley, is a member of the INA board but voted against its plans to discontinue the all-state teams.)

     Another email arrived Monday from the IPSWA, announcing a date for selecting the first of its all-state teams, girls basketball, in early March.

     So, hats off to founders Kyle Ocker, Lori Wiser, Dan Voigt, Matt Gengler and Scott Spurgeon for getting this off the ground.

How to handle

sports betting?

     There is a pending U.S. Supreme Court decision that could strike down a law preventing legalized sports betting. If it happens, it will open the door for states to enact their own laws.

     I do believe it will happen, if not with this decision, then eventually. And when it does, there is just too much potential revenue for state governments not to embrace it.

     The sports betting concept is fascinating to me, mostly because it creates a question in my own mind. As a lover of horse racing and greyhound racing, I have no idea how I will react if I can suddenly bet on professional and college sports as well.

     I know that when we’ve been in Las Vegas, I’ve had a great time betting sporting events, largely because it was the one kind of betting you could do there that you couldn’t (legally) do here.

     Which brings up another question: What becomes of Vegas if sports betting goes nationwide?