Kirby Sprouls
'The Paper' Hits Close to Home
BY KIRBY SPROULS // POSTED SEPTEMBER 23, 2025
On my first day at the South Bend Tribune, Harold Lowe, a longtime editor, grabbed a freshly-printed paper and declared “another daily miracle.” Harold was the Tribune's wire editor when I arrived at there in 1989. It was a time when newspapers still enjoyed the large staffs and budgets essential for that miracle, not to mention hungry subscribers and willing advertisers. But, of course, those key ingredients are disappearing... as are newspapers.
Inside Blake Wesley's Wild Summer
BY KIRBY SPROULS // POSTED AUGUST 8, 2025
Blake Wesley expects — and relishes — a fast pace on the basketball floor, but he learned this summer the business-side of the NBA can move swiftly too. This was a front-office fast break resulting in Wesley wearing three different NBA uniforms in less than two weeks.
Local Stars Making a Professional Splash
BY KIRBY SPROULS // POSTED FEBRUARY 2, 2025
The Chicago Blackhawks have been playing hockey since 1926. That's 6,654 regular season games as of February 1. That was the night when South Bend's Landon Slaggert, playing in only his 19th National Hockey League game, pulled off a remarkable feat unmatched by any Blackhawks player over their 98 seasons.