I apologize most sincerely to players and coaches on the Wayland girls’ varsity basketball team for the caustic remarks I made in coverage of their victory over Kelloggsville.

Like so many others these days, I was the “victim” of bad information, fake news.

I suggested the Lady Wildcats really played poorly because they struggled mightily last Tuesday to beat a team I thought (wrongly) had been defeated by two points by West Michigan Aviation Academy. My source, Max/Preps, let me down. Kelloggsville girls crushed WMAA.

I should have known better. Wayland defeated Hopkins 66-39 and Martin clobbered WMAA 52-19. So my conclusion from faulty data made no sense.

In these days of modern times, we media types scramble for information and sometimes we don’t get it right. There is so much less opportunity to get quality and accurate statistics.

In my desperation, I have taken to relying on parents or friends of the team and its players. Thus far, they have performed admirably.

Because I routinely cover municipal meetings, they often conflict with ballgames, particularly on Tuesdays. And because I cover three schools, I cannot personally be present for more than one team each game night. So I have to depend on the kindness of strangers, not a solid option, but if the source is very close to the team and its game, it can be as good as, if not better than, others.

Many might suggest I call coaches, just like I did in days gone by. However, that poses as a bad option because I have learned telephones are horribly disruptive in the age of telemarketing and it results in me having to search frantically for moving targets.

The business of community journalism has changed drastically in the last decade, and some local newspapers as old as 135 years have gone belly up. Townbroadcast is a different animal that has eliminated the costs of distribution and printing, but relies heavily on the Internet and that very fickle and dangerous source known as Facebook.

I have attempted and will continue to try to gather information and post it as quickly as possible, but occasionally it may not be up to par. I stand ready, willing and able to make corrections as necessary.

That said, I still believe the suddenly successful Lady Wildcats have a very difficult road ahead, despite that gaudy 8-0 record. They play in an extremely rugged conference that includes several powerhouses, such as Grand Rapids Christian, South Christian and East Grand Rapids. Just as in cross-country, the local ladies could finish in the middle of the pack in the league, yet have a very good team with a very good overall record.

They’ll get a real strong test next Friday against East Grand Rapids.