Saying goodbye is hard to do in most situations. After living in Northwest Indiana for 46 of my 47 years on this Earth, I can honestly say some tears rolled down my cheek as I wrote this — my final Gorch on the Porch column.

Here we go again. I’m going to try to predict some more winners in a major sport during a high school season.

First-year Marquette boys basketball coach Fred Mooney doesn’t come across as a masochist. But if you look at the Blazers’ schedule this season, you might think he likes pain.

Just when I thought it was time to get over the holiday hangover, I revert back to my “get off my lawn” persona.

Another year is gone and that makes us all older and supposedly wiser.

No, a movie with Ebenezer Scrooge in it will not appear on my best or worst five Christmas movie lists. But when you reach my five least favorites, it may sound like I want to say “Bah Humbug” or that my name is Grinch.

Apologies are in order for you, my loyal column readers who send me emails and voice mails or tell me in person how much you love my rants and opinions.

So there I was just chilling on a Friday afternoon at home, eating some bacon and watching the Golf Channel.

Time for you to roll your eyes while sitting down for breakfast in the morning and opening the paper to The News-Dispatch sports section, and yelling to your significant other, “Hey, Gorches is ranting about Michigan City and Marquette boys basketball again!”

With all the success the La Porte High School football team has had over the years — especially in the last decade — you would think the La Porte Pop Warner football program would have garnered more accolades in the process.

As the Indiana high school boys basketball season started this past week, fans are going to notice several new faces on the sidelines.

It was a long walk from the wet football field to Michigan City’s designated locker room at Kokomo High School last Friday after the Wolves’ 21-14 loss in the Class 5A semistate.

It may not quite be like Forrest Gump and his future wife: “Me and Jenny go together like peas and carrots.” But you can definitely use a metaphor about Michigan City head coach Phil Mason and assistant Roydon Richards being married to football.

On Friday night when the News-Dispatch contingent (myself, Adam Parkhouse and photographer Robb Quinn) arrived early, Concord athletic director David Preheim quipped, “Welcome to the 1990s” in answer to a question about whether there was WiFi on the premises.

Driving into the News-Dispatch office on Saturday, I saw something that I’m betting isn’t as common as in other communities.

It’s status quo for the time being when it comes to Indiana High School Bowling.

After last Friday’s 38-10 victory over La Porte in the Class 5A Sectional 9 championship game, Phil Mason admitted his wife told him two years ago that if he was ‘as good as you think you are, you’ll get it done,’ in reference to Mason deciding to take the Wolves’ head coaching job.

It’s not quite as hard to believe as the words, “The Cubs won the World Series” when they were uttered for the first time almost exactly a year ago to the day.

MICHIGAN CITY — The seeds leading to the hoisting of a sectional championship trophy for the first time in Michigan City High School football program history were planted in 2012 more than 1,100 miles away.

On Friday night in Michigan City’s 28-14 victory at Munster in the Class 5A Sectional 9 semifinal, the host Mustangs had just two plays of 20 yards or more.

For half of our local football teams, this week is the calm before the storm.

Two weeks ago, after Michigan City’s 56-14 victory over Lake Central, head coach Phil Mason had a humorous diatribe in the third person that I saved for a rainy day.

Biggest county football game ever.

Earlier this week — on Sunday night at 10:17 p.m., to be exact — there was a screen shot posted showing an Indiana high school football poll after last Friday’s games.

For those of you who compete in fantasy leagues, whether it’s baseball or football or even basketball, don’t you love that feeling when you see a notice at the top of your team page saying you have a stat correction … and it’s in your favor.

NEW CARLISLE — You know an event is a big deal when you have an airplane with a banner behind it flying above in honor of the occasion.

Far be it from me to criticize an official’s call in any sport, but a couple penalties and the result had me baffled the last couple weeks while covering Michigan City football — and the one last week could have impacted the game.

Don’t ever let any football fan undersell the importance of special teams.

Can we just leave politics out of sports?

I still recall the days of covering Craig Buzea when he was the head coach at Michigan City, and Portage before that.

“No refuge could save the hireling and slave from the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave.” — excerpt from little known third verse of The Star Spangled Banner

MICHIGAN CITY — It was an innocent enough day at Ames Field last week during a Michigan City football practice, on a beautiful calm day.

Are you ready for one of the most overused questions in sports journalism.

Most Indiana high school football schedules are composed the same way. The first two weeks are non-conference games, while the other seven weeks are conference tilts.

It’s not nearly as iconic of a father-son photo as a small John F. Kennedy Jr. hiding under his dad’s desk in the Oval Office when JFK was President in the early 1960s, but it could be part of a feel-good NASCAR moment on Sunday when the Brickyard 400 takes place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The location is different than last year, but you can expect the basketball fun to be the same.

It wasn’t hard to hear it in the voice on La Porte High School athletic director Ed Gilliland when I talked to him on the phone last week about the hiring of new boys basketball coach Kyle Benge.

Just as the regular NASCAR season is heating up, another News-Dispatch Fantasy NASCAR campaign comes to an end this week as the annual Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway arrives this weekend.

Last year (2015-16) was a banner year for La Porte High School athletics with seven sectional titles and a pair of regional trophies in cross country. That tied for the most sectional crowns in a single high school season for the Slicers, matching 1996-97 and 1998-99.

Well, Libby Heath and two of her former fellow Michigan City High School athletes were sort of like celebrities, thanks to an Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) banner promoting Special Olympics and unified track and field.

When I was 9 years old, I loved baseball, just like Reed Robinson of New Carlisle.

So you’re 11 years old, getting ready to play some basketball in a national contest, making your first trip to the greatest city in the world — well, New York City is the greatest if you ask a New Yorker — on your first airplane ride.