[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20...5c404374111.txt

Get in the numbers

By Drew White
Unwritten No More
Published: Monday, May 7, 2012 4:20 PM CDT
Sports are always about the numbers.

What’s the score?

What’s his average?

What’s her personal best?

*
How much is the contract worth?

The answers to these questions – each of which you will hear sports fans ask on a regular basis – involve numbers.

Whether it is trivia-related or basis for spirited debate, you’ll hear number after number after number thrown out.

Here’s a number for you: 2,678.

It’s a large number, but it has a couple of notable claims to fame.

Baseball Hall of Famer Fred Clarke, who played and managed the Pittsburgh Pirates in the early 1900’s, finished with 2,678 hits for his career.

Former Bear running back Thomas Jones, who most recently played for the Kansas City Chiefs, currently sits at 2,678 carries for his professional career. Though he hasn’t indicated an intention to retire, he’s scheduled to be a free agent this year and at 34-years-old with 12 years in the league behind him it’s possible that is a number that will stick.

Neither Clarke nor Jones is the reason that I throw the number 2,678 out there.

The reason I throw 2,678 out there is because that is the amount of votes that Michigan City mayor Ron Meer received in last fall’s mayoral election – ahead of Keith Harris’ 1,610 and Nancy Moldenhauer’s 315.

Add the three vote totals together and you get 4,603 people who cast votes to determine the mayor of a community that has over 32,000 residents.

Sure, there are many of those residents who can’t vote for one reason or another – age and municipality boundaries such as Trail Creek, to name a few.

But, it comes down to the fact that 2,678 votes won the office of the mayor in Michigan City, though 1,611 would’ve done the trick.

I bring this all up of course, because tomorrow is the Indiana Primary Election. Perhaps you’ve seen the colorful yard signs.

Since becoming voting age, I’ve always made it a point to vote when possible.

In fact, since my daughter was born, I’ve made a tradition of taking her along with me to the polling place – hoping that one day she too will make it a point to cast a vote.

We live in a world where people are quick to complain about the issues, but when it comes time to decide who will ultimately deal with the issues, we get about 1 in 4 people who choose to have a say in our future.

A lot of people might say, ‘One vote doesn’t make a difference.’

Take away one of Clarke’s hits and perhaps the Pirates have another loss on their hefty total of franchise losses. Take away one of Thomas Jones’ carries and perhaps the Bears don’t make it to the Super Bowl in 2007.

Get out and vote tomorrow.

Oh, yeah.

While you’re in a decision making mode, you can have your afternoon choice – either head to the high school to see the Wolves take on La Porte in baseball and Chesterton in girls tennis, or head to La Porte’s Kesling Park to see the City softball team take on the Slicers.

Contact sports writer Drew White at dwhite@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447.

[Southsider2k12]

I saw an article from the NWI Times describing turnout at the polls as "shockingly low". If you have feelings in this primary, there is still plenty of time to get to the polls with just over 3 hours left to vote. Your vote might make more of a difference than usual if turnout is as low as rumored.