A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

"Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Halftimes take 12 minutes. This is not coincidence." - Erma Bombeck Quite possibly, truer words were never spoken. You know the drill at Thanksgiving...and Christmas...and New Year's. If there's one certainty, it's that we love to watch sports and we love to eat. And over the next 60 days, which feature the aforementioned mammoth holidays, we're about to get plenty of both. From the NFL season hitting mid-stream to the beginning of pro and college basketball, it's perhaps the best time of the year to be a sports fan. Here in Central Indiana, November marks the culmination of fall sports with state championships in volleyball and football, as well as the beginning of the winter sports season. No doubt we'll feast on all the local high school sports action before 2007 ends - just be careful not to overindulge and pass out on the couch like a crazy uncle at Thanksgiving. To mark this glorious time of year, HSSTM has put together a November issue you won't be able to put down. In the pages ahead you'll find our basketball preview, which features 25 area boys and girls teams to watch this coming season, as well as a feature stories on cover subjects Walter Offutt of Warren Central, Larry Stone of Howe and Maggie Boyer of Lebanon. (Special thanks to Biff and Nancy Tannen-McFly for the use of their "Hoosiers"-esque barn during the photo shoot.) Plus, we take a look at Broad Ripple's Khirie Williams and his community service efforts, Center Grove girls basketball coach Joe Lentz and Mooresville's talented backcourt of Trent Mossbrucker and Matt Kenney. From the great action photos captured at fall sports tournaments to important information on community service projects and tips on reaching higher learning, HSSTM has it all in this month's issue. Consider this the main course of your sports meal. Since it took us more than 18 hours to prepare, try to not consume this month's HSSTM in 12 minutes. Take a break occasionally, check out some quality high school sports action in person and be sure to drop us an e-mail with your comments and ideas at letters.centralindiana@hsstm.com.