It was a different time. The Ruan Center in Des Moines, with 35 floors, had just become Iowa’s tallest building. Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, home of the Iowa State Cyclones, had just opened. The farm girls were still playing 6-on-6 high school basketball – three forwards on one half of the court, three guards (permitted to dribble only twice) on the other, and no crossing the half-court line – and they were attracting thousands of spectators, as many as 7,362 to watch Warsaw defeat Bloomfield, 57-52, for the state championship in 1976.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I feel so bad. A friend of mine asked me to talk to her dad about a project he is working on. I agreed right away, but then I got distracted. First, I got sick with whatever bug is making its rounds. Then I got so busy playing catch-up at work that I totally forgot. I remembered the other day, but then I felt like such a loser that I didn't reach out. It just felt like it was too late. But that's no way to handle things. I don't mean to be a disappointment, especially to my friend's dad. What can I say or do to make it up to him? — Not a Flake DEAR NOT A FLAKE: Now that you have remembered, reach out at once to your friend. Tell her the truth. Start by letting her know that you haven't spoken to her father yet.

You know, since I've been eating these chia seeds, I've noticed my beard has gotten heavier.'

Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas parole board should commute Andre Thomas’ sentence.