And winner is... Costner... but in what movie

In probably the quickest round in tournament history Bull Durham edged Major League in the comedy bracket and Field of Dreams got by Rudy in another heated battle. This sets up:

The Battle of the Costners- A Falls Count Anywhere, Barb-Wire rope, Exploding Ring match with tables, ladders, chairs, as well as barb-wired boards, light tubes, and panes of glass all to be used liberally throughout the match.

For the three or four usual posters on the blog and the millions of more reading at home... are you ready? Then let's get ready to RUUUMMMMBLLLEEEE!

First to my left, coming to us from the year 1988; this R-rated classic directed by Ron Shelton included such stars as Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, and an underrated performance by Robert Wuhl, later to be know as Arli$$... Bull Durham.

Now coming down the aisle from the year 1989, this family-friendly PG flick included the likes of Kevin Costner, James Earl "Darth Vader" Jones, Burt Lancaster, and "Mr. Maffia" Ray Liotta in a cameo as Shoeless Joe Jackson. This drama written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson with a running time of 106 minutes... Field of Dreams.

Final Four

The tournament is quickly coming to a close. With that in mind here are the remaining (slightly renamed) brackets:

COMEDY
#2 Bull Durham vs. #3 Major League

DRAMA
#1 Field of Dreams vs. #2 Rudy

Finally... the Elite Eight

After a slow down on the fast paced tourney, we're back up and running.
Here's how the Elite Eight is shaking out:
MIDWEST
#1 Hoosiers vs. #2 Bull Durham

WEST
#8 Brewster's Millions vs. #3 Major League

SOUTH
#4 Happy Gilmore vs. #2 Rudy

EAST
#1 Field of Dreams vs. #10 Dodge Ball

Interesting to note that comedies are dominating at this point with a 5-3 advantage. Will that continue?

Sweet Sixteen

I just did this post and lost it, so the second time through I might be a little briefer.

Winners of the previous round:
MIDWEST
#1 Hoosiers vs. #9 Any Given Sunday
#5 Caddyshack vs. #13 Sea Biscuit
#2 Bull Durham vs. #7 Karate Kid
#3 Rocky Balboa vs. #6 Glory Road

WEST
#1 The Waterboy vs. #8 Brewster's Millions
#4 Finding Forester vs. #12 Blue Chips
#2 Friday Night Lights vs. #7 Varsity Blues
#3 Major League vs. #6 Necessary Roughness

SOUTH
#1 Million Dollar Baby vs. #8 Jerry Maguire
#4 Happy Gilmore vs. #12 Fever Pitch
#2 Rudy vs. #10 League of their Own
#3 The Rookie vs. #11 Mr. Baseball

EAST
# 1 Field of Dreams vs. #9 The Natural
#4 We Are Marshall vs. #12 For the Love of the Game
#10 Dodge Ball vs. #15 Slap Shot
#3 Remember the Titans vs. #6 Rocky 1

This sets up:
MIDWEST
#1 Hoosiers vs. #5 Caddyshack
#2 Bull Durham vs. #3 Rocky Balboa

WEST
#8 Brewster's Millions vs. #12 Blue Chips
#2 Friday Night Lights #3 Major League

SOUTH
#8 Jerry Maguire vs. #4 Happy Gilmore
#2 Rudy vs. #11 Mr. Baseball

EAST
# 1 Field of Dreams vs. #12 For the Love of the Game
#10 Dodge Ball vs. #3 Remember the Titans

Who do you think shout advance to the Elite Eight?

You're first round winners are...

The first round winners have been chosen by the masses; here are the results:

MIDWEST
#1 Hoosiers vs. #16 Mr. Destiny-Everyone knew it was Hoosiers destiny to advance, posibly to the Final Four.

#8 Eight Men Out vs. #9 Any Given Sunday- I guess on any given sunday, anyone can be knocked off from the tourney.

#4 Legend of Bagger Vance vs. #13 Sea Biscuit-Riding on to the 2nd round in the first major upset.

#5 Caddyshack vs. #12 Angels in the Outfield- In the closest opening round match-up it takes OT for a Caddyshack win; I guess Angels really can't help in a championship game.

#2 Bull Durham vs. #15 Rookie of the Year-The youngster couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat.

#7 Karate Kid vs. #10 The Benchwarmers-
#3 Rocky Balboa vs. #14 The Naked Gun-Sylvester Stallone vs. Leslie Nielsen in a fight; I like Sly's chances and liked his movie.

#6 Glory Road vs. #11 Coach Carter

WEST
#1 The Waterboy vs. #16 8 Seconds-It only took about eight seconds for Adam Sandler to open a can of whoop *** on the opposition.

#8 Brewster’s Millions vs. #9 The Replacements-John Candy in a great role before he went north of four bills.

#4 Finding Forester vs. #13 Johnny Be Good-Good win for Forrester which is a movie near and dear to my heart; it's about writing and basketball... and moving onto the next round.

#5 Miracle vs. #12 Blue Chips-The true Miracle was that Miracle got any votes.

#2 Friday Night Lights vs. #15 The Longest Yard (Burt Reynolds)-Did you know that Billy Bob and the QB also teamed up in Sling Blade?

#7 Varsity Blues vs. #10 The Hurricane

#3 Major League vs. #14 Teen Wolf- "Just a bit outside."

#6 Necessary Roughness vs. #11 Paper Lion-I actually saw the stadium where the filmed the movie... not that any one cares.

SOUTH
#1 Million Dollar Baby vs. # 16 She’s the Man-Amanda Bynes is the victim of a first round TKO.

#8 Jerry Maguire vs. #9 Bring It On

#4 Happy Gilmore vs. #13 White Men Can’t Jump-Woody Harrelson can't jump... out of the first round.

#5 Breaking Away vs. #12 Fever Pitch- Not even Buckner could have screwed this one up for Red Sox fans.

#2 Rudy vs. #15 Cobb-Who didn't cry when the little guy got accepted, or when his dad came to see him play, or when he finally got to play...

#7 Invincible vs. #10 League of their Own-There is no crying in baseball or justice in this contest as Invincible proves falible. If Tom Hanks doesn't say, "There's no crying in baseball" does this movie win?

#3 The Rookie vs. #14 Summer Catch

#6 61* vs. #11 Mr. Baseball-Key to early success in this tournament, have Dennis Haysbert in your movie (you know him better from the insurance commercials, as President Palmer on 24, or as Cerrano in Major League).

EAST
# 1 Field of Dreams vs. # 16 The Cutting Edge-The dream is over for the ice skating movie.

#8 The Babe vs. #9 The Natural-It seems unnatural that the Babe didn't go out on top.

#4 We Are Marshall vs. #13 Hoop Dreams

#5 Cool Runnings vs. #12 For the Love of the Game-Huge upset... in no one's eyes but my own.

#2 Cinderella Man vs. #15 Slap Shot-James Braddock gets knocked out by the Hanson brothers.

#7 Mr. 3000 vs. #10 Dodge Ball-Ben Stiller gives Bernie Mac a "total facial."

#3 Remember the Titans vs. #14 Basketball Diaries

#6 Rocky 1 vs. #11 Rocky 2-The first one proves to be the best.

This sets up:
MIDWEST
#1 Hoosiers vs. #9 Any Given Sunday
#5 Caddyshack vs. #13 Sea Biscuit
#2 Bull Durham vs. #7 Karate Kid
#3 Rocky Balboa vs. #6 Glory Road

WEST
#1 The Waterboy vs. #8 Brewster's Millions
#4 Finding Forester vs. #12 Blue Chips
#2 Friday Night Lights vs. #7 Varsity Blues
#3 Major League vs. #6 Necessary Roughness

SOUTH
#1 Million Dollar Baby vs. #8 Jerry Maguire
#4 Happy Gilmore vs. #12 Fever Pitch
#2 Rudy vs. #10 League of their Own
#3 The Rookie vs. #11 Mr. Baseball

EAST
# 1 Field of Dreams vs. #9 The Natural
#4 We Are Marshall vs. #12 For the Love of the Game
#10 Dodge Ball vs. #15 Slap Shot
#3 Remember the Titans vs. #6 Rocky 1

Let's post you're next round winner! I'd like to finish another round by sometime tomorrow or early Saturday at the latest.

It's tournament time... sports movie style

Okay posters, I know you're out there. But now I need you all to go from passive readers to active participants in the "Best Sports Movie Bracket."
I started by coming up with 85 of my favorite sports movies, many of which are generally considered to be pretty popular flicks. From there I cut it down to 64, with some true cult classics like the Harlem Globetrotters Travel to Gilligan's Island and Gary Coleman's The Kid From Left Field hitting the cutting room floor (I'm not joking, both movies are decent).
From there I picked my number one seeds. I tried to come up with a baseball, basketball, football, and miscellaneous bracket but the truth is there aren't 16 good hoops movies out there. However, I did use that criteria for picking my number tops seeds, which were:

Hoosiers (Best Basketball, #1 overall)

Field of Dreams (Best Baseball-this one had more to do with generally accepted popular opinion then my views on the movie; I just don't want to have a catch with my dad)

The Waterboy (Best Football-the #1 seeds can't all be dramas)

Million Dollar Baby (Best Miscellaneous)

Then I simply rated the movies and placed them in brackets. I have seen almost every one of these movies with the exceptions being Sea Biscuit and Miracle, so in their case I tried to use their critical acclaim to keep them from being a #16 seed.
My plan is to host a round every other day. I will decide which teams advance, HOWEVER, I want people to chime in with thoughts they have on any particular match-up which will also be given significant weight.
Make me believe your favorite should win their games!
So here are the brackets (I'll have first round winners on Thursday):

MIDWEST
#1 Hoosiers vs. #16 Mr. Destiny
#8 Eight Men Out vs. #9 Any Given Sunday
#4 Legend of Bagger Vance vs. #13 Sea Biscuit
#5 Caddyshack vs. #12 Angels in the Outfield
#2 Bull Durham vs. #15 Rookie of the Year
#7 Karate Kid vs. #10 The Benchwarmers
#3 Rocky Balboa vs. #14 The Naked Gun
#6 Glory Road vs. #11 Coach Carter

WEST
#1 The Waterboy vs. #16 8 Seconds
#8 Brewster’s Millions vs. #9 The Replacements
#4 Finding Forester vs. #13 Johnny Be Good
#5 Miracle vs. #12 Blue Chips
#2 Friday Night Lights vs. #15 The Longest Yard (Burt Reynolds)
#7 Varsity Blues vs. #10 The Hurricane
#3 Major League vs. #14 Teen Wolf
#6 Necessary Roughness vs. #11 Paper Lion

SOUTH
#1 Million Dollar Baby vs. # 16 She’s the Man
#8 Jerry Maguire vs. #9 Bring It On
#4 Happy Gilmore vs. #13 White Men Can’t Jump
#5 Breaking Away vs. #12 Fever Pitch
#2 Rudy vs. #15 Cobb
#7 Invincible vs. #10 League of their Own
#3 The Rookie vs. #14 Summer Catch
#6 61* vs. #11 Mr. Baseball

EAST
# 1 Field of Dreams vs. # 16 The Cutting Edge
#8 The Babe vs. #9 The Natural
#4 We Are Marshall vs. #13 Hoop Dreams
#5 Cool Runnings vs. #12 For the Love of the Game
#2 Cinderella Man vs. #15 Slap Shot
#7 Mr. 3000 vs. #10 Dodge Ball
#3 Remember the Titans vs. #14 Basketball Diaries
#6 Rocky 1 vs. #11 Rocky 2

All good things come to an end...

Simply put, USA just ran into a better team tonight, losing 66-46 to Saginaw Nouvel in the Class C Regional Finals at Sandusky.
The Panthers jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead against the Patriots, then extended it to 17-8 by the end of the first. USA seemed pretty tight early on as they were unable to convert a number of shot opportunities that looked like they should have been easy points.
It didn't help that Taylor Cramer, who had been leading the team with a 15.75 ppg average in the post season was as cold as ice to start the game; he was just unable to get into any kind of shooting rhythm in the first half.
Things changed for USA (who trailed 30-14 at the half) in the third, as Cramer hit two triples as part of a 12-4 run to start the quarter. That cut Nouvel's lead to 34-26 with 5:10 to go in the third, but that was as close as things would get.
As Gainforth explained, the team used a lot of energy trying to mount that initial comeback that they were gassed as the game progressed, which allowed the Panthers to pull away as the fourth approached.
However, as tired as the Patriots were, they still kept it within 11 with a final shot to cut the lead to under double digits as the quarter wound down. But USA missed their shot and Nouvel's Mitch Mulcahy threw up a buzzer beater, which Gainforth admitted was a danger in the heart for the team.
Mulcahy, along with David Kazmierski, where the big guns for Saginaw Nouvel, while Tim Ryan (who scored 37 against New Haven in the semis) was held in check by USA's triangle-and-two defense.
Though the loss the was disappointing, Gainforth was just truly proud of his players and amazed by everything they accomplished. The Patriot's lose five seniors, including Isaiah Jackson, who Gainforth recognized as a real key to the team's playoff run. Other seniors include Kyle Farmer, Jordan Bolzman, Kelson VanBevern, and Brennan Pitcher.
As for Pitcher, I wish him well in his on-going battle with cancer. If there is one kid tough enough to win this fight, it is Brennan. Please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers.
If there is one thing that I was truly looking forward to it was the possibility of Brennan stepping out on the court for a second or two to get a well-deserved ovation from the fans. I don't know if he would have been able to, but a fellow reporter and I discussed how Pitcher could have got his last shining moment in basketball with an appearance on the court for a second or two.
It didn't end up happening, but the mere thought of it gave me goosebumps, watching to see if Pitcher was going to take off his warm-ups (which would have indicated he was going in). Let's just say two tough guys were on the verge of tears just thinking about the chance of Pitcher coming in... had it happened I think we would have been having a cry session with Gainy in the locker room instead of a post-game interview.
I guess that just goes to show you, how much an impact Pitcher has made on all of our lives and how much we all want to see him get well.
Hopefully some day he will be healthy enough to play sports again at some level, some day. Now that would be one game I'd pay to see.

They're heading to the Regional Finals

In a post-season where it seems like every night a different player is stepping up, Tim Holland and Isaiah Jackson where real difference makers for the Patriots in their 60-52 win over Sandusky last night.

Holland scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half and helped USA establish a post-pressence early. This was by far the best Holland has looked all tournament. '

Coach Gainforth has talked last week about Holland still being slowed by his injury and not having his wind back, but at least this point those issues seem to be behind him. Having Holland at or near 100 percent can only help the Pats this Friday against Nouvel.

While Holland helped the team start strong early, it was Jackson who made sure they walked away with a win. Jackson scored all 10 of his points in the seond half; really in the last 8:01.

Isaiah fired up a buzzer beater with about one second left in the third to give USA a 44-43 lead heading into the final quarter.

This was the second "buzzer beater" by Jackson in recent weeks as he hit one in OT to beat Reese in the Patriot's regular season finale. So what is his secret? Gainforth explained that Jackson has the ability to extend his body over opponents when he shoots, which helps him get those late shots off.

Isaiah went on to add eight points in the fourth, hitting several key shots and a couple of key free throws that helped keep his team ahead.

With Jackson, Holland, Taylor Cramer, Brandon Bitzer, and Kelson Gettel firing on all cylinders at this point (although Gettel's contributions are the kind that don't show up in the box scores), I like USA's chance to stick with and possibly beat Nouvel this Friday. They did lose to them earlier in the season to them by 15 points, but this is a totally different team.

That was a team coming off of losses to Cass City at home (their first loss at their house in over four years) and Buena Vista, and where are also in the early stages of dealing with the news of Brennan Pitcher's illness.

It was also a team that hadn't found a real role for Cramer at that point, the same Cramer who is averaging 15.8 ppg in the playoffs and hit 15 triples so far (4.25 per game) including five or more twice (five vs. Sandusky, six vs. Ubly).

Needless to say this is a team that has so many weapons it is capable of beating any one on any given night. I've got a feeling this team is going to win the Regional this Friday.

How ironic would that be? The kids that have played in the shadow of last year's team all season, with a win Friday, would have made it further in the post-season then the team they are constantly comapred to.

How's that for establishing your own legacy?

Closer than expected

I've got to say that Owen-Gage impressed me last night. That might seem like an odd statement since they lost by 28-points (74-46).
But the Bulldogs played a real gritty game and battled hard to make it interesting.
They trailed at one point 20-0 after the quarter and I began talking to one of the other nearby reporters about how out of hand he thought the game would get. He guessed 31, I thought the Cardinals might win by as much as 45.
However, two interesting things happened. Owen-Gage outscored the Cardinals 16-11 in the second to pull within 15. At that point, I'm sure not many people were under the allusion that the Bulldogs would win, but I think everyone in attendance (except the Kingston fans obviously) was glad it wasn't a blow off.
A 24-15 advantage in the third by Kingston put the end to any hopes of a miracle comeback by the Dawgs.
But the story of the game in my estimation is how the Cardinals seem to take plays and whole quarters off at a time or at least it seems that way. Kingston coach Mike Rea touched upon that in the post-game interview, noting that his team seems to kick it into safe-mode when things get too comfortable. He believes that is one of the ways that having an easy time during the regular season has hurt this team.
As for Owen-Gage, losing to Kingston in the Regional semis takes nothing away from what has been an amazing season. Coach Arnie Howard said he felt blessed to have been a part of this team, which won both league and District titles in the same season for the first time since 1971.
I'll be back either later tonight or tomorrow morning with an update on tonight's Sandusky/USA match-up.

Three-peat for the Patriots

I've said all week to anyone that would listen that I felt a sort of mystique when I was watching USA play throughout the tournament. It's just one of those things, when you're watching a team play and have a feeling you are in the presence of something truly special happening.
That instinct of my proved to be right on last night as the Patriots took care of Reese 53-47 in the Class C District finals.
I've had the pleasure of covering the last two District championship wins for the Patriots (they have won three straight District titles) and let me just say, while last year's was cool, this one was extremely special.
After USA lost their entire starting five to graduation last year, expectations for the 06-07' campaign were definitely down.
Add in the loss of Brennan Pitcher to his illness and Tim Holland to an ankle injury and those expectations sunk even lower; especially after a four game skid a few weeks backs.
Patriot's coach Mark Gainforth explained that it would have been really easy for the team to feel sorry for themselves and let the season spin out of control. Instead they made the conscious decision to succeed and ended making a late run towards a league championship (they finished in second behind Reese).
That momentum carried over for the entire tournament, which saw many of the team's young players step up into key roles, especially on offense.
Against the Rockets, Taylor Cramer and Brandon Bitzer once again emerged to lead the "O" as they both chipped in 14 points each. As for Bitzer's effort, it earned the praise of Greg Colburn (a coach at BCAS), who called it the best offensive effort he's seen from Bitzer all season.
At the same time, Cramer helped to cement his status as a go to player with several key free throws down the stretch. Cramer, who was 9-for-9 on the day and 12-for-15 in the playoffs, was 6-for-6 in the final 35 seconds to help put away Reese.
One other player who definitely earned Gainforth's praise was Kelson, who scored nine points and grabbed at least 10 boards. He was a force all night, playing aggressive and like he really wanted to win the District title bad. Gainforth pointed out that had it not been for Gettel's effort, there is no way his team would have won.
One other thing I would like to point out. I interviewed Gainforth many times in my career, obviously much more so over the last 18 months I can tell you I have never seen him like I did after the Patriots won. He seemed to be on the verge of tears, but when and if they came (I suspect they might have when the reporters left), they were all from happiness.
Gainforth explained that he was truly happy for this group as they finally have separated themselves for the past and now have their own legacy.
I guess when it comes down to it, this means I'll be spending my 32nd birthday covering the Patriots in Sandusky. I can think of a lot worse ways to spend the day.

Lady Bearcats fall in Regionals; NH does too

After winning a GTE league and a Class C District championship last week, Ubly was looking to add more hardware to their crowded trophy case in the form of a Regional Championship. However, that dream was shattered by Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central last Saturday, when they knocked off the Bearcats 25-18, 27-25, 20-25, 26-24 in the semi-finals.
After falling behind by a game to the Panthers, Ubly rallied in game two. Trailing 22-23, the Bearcats made a comeback by scoring four of the next five points to take a slight 25-24 edge. However, Nouvel tied the game with a side out and scored two straight points to escape the second contest with a 27-25 and a 2-0 advantage in the match.
In game three, the Bearcats trailed 18-17 but scored eight of the next 10 points (including five points on Jade Kaufman’s serve) to secure the 25-20 win and force a fourth game.
In that fourth contest, Ubly appeared to about of it as they got behind 20-11 only to rally to within a point at 20-21. Nouvel scored the next three to take a 24-21 edge but the Bearcats battled back to tie it at 24, before the Panthers scored the final two to end Ubly’s season.
Despite the season-ending setback, Bearcat’s coach Andy Gusa was proud of how his team fought back in game four. “The girls just said to each other, ‘Don’t give up; let’s keep playing hard.’ They did and good things happened,” Gusa explained.
He added, “We got a couple of breaks and got right back into it. It is just the character of that team not to give up.”
The team will lose seven seniors from this year's roster including Kaufman, LaBuhn, Geiger, Kara Lackowski, Gentner, Kubacki, and Lindey Baslock.
I've just got to see that win or lose that was the BEST volleyball I've seen in my entire life. A phenomenal basketball game last night, best volleyball game I've ever seen today... what did i do to be so blessed?
Could tonight's Reese/USA District final be three-in-a-row as far as outstanding events? I sure hope so.
I'll be back with some thoughts after basketball tonight. By the way, the North Huron girls lost in Regionals today to BCAS although I don't have the scores yet.

The Year of the Bulldog!

Congratulations to the Owen-Gage basketball team, who added some more hardware to their trophy case with a 75-64 win over North Huron in the finals of the Class D District tournament in Caseville.

This one was simply AMAZING! I said on the radio that fans should donate on the way out the door, because this game was worth a lot more than the paltry $4 they had to pay to get in.

As for the fans, I arrived a little after six and there were already a contingent of die hards sitting in the stands, waiting for the game to start. Over the next hour, tons of fans trickled in... to the point that it was standing (or in some cases sitting) room only.

As for the game it itself, I have to imagine that Owen-Gage coach Arnie Howard told his team they needed to set the tempo of the game early. I'm sure he had no clue his team would execute orders so well.

The Bulldogs scored seven points in the first 24 seconds en route to a 21-6 first quarter lead and a 45-18 edge at halftime. As Howard explained it, he felt the team that relaxed first (and got rid of the jitters) would take control and his team did that.

It was a combination of explosive offense and a suffocating press on defense. As Owen-Gage's offense went, I'll just say I have never seen a player quite like Eric Zaleski; he's just so fast (I think I'll nick-name him "Flash").

It seemed like a North Huron player would score and two or three seconds later Zaleski had already gone coast-to-coast for a score of his own.

Zaleski scored 24 for the game (unofficial), including 17 in the first half.

But Zaleski couldn't do it alone and got a lot of help from Brandon Dubs who shot well, was dynamic defensively, and even made his presence felt in the post. But it was role players like Aaron Gaeth and Grant Champagne that turned out to be the difference. Gaeth with his scoring and Champagne with his rebounding, defense, and scoring as well.

As well as everything went for Owen-Gage in the first half, it was equally dicey in the second half. North Huron opened on an impressive run and worked hard throughput the quarter to cut it to 58-37.

While that lead seemed insurmountable, the Warriors did their best to make a game of it. In fact, North Huron used a 13-0 run late in the fourth to cut it to 66-60 with a minute to go.

However, the game slipped away from North Huron on the next play, when one of the Warriors was called for a foul and then got "T'ed" up for arguing the call.

This resulted in four free throws and the ball for the Bulldogs, who extended it to a three possession game and more.

While this wasn't the result North Huron had hoped for, there season ends in a game with several amazing stories. One of the most memorable was the gutsy effort by Brad Neumayer, who was obviously suffering some significant pain in his ankle.

Yet he still came in multiple times in the second half and made a significant contribution. North Huron coach Mark Krug was really smart about how he used him. When possible, especially late , he would alternate Neumayer in on offense and then get him out on defense.

Neumayer's effort was one of those performances that fans will always remember, because it was just so gritty.

If there is one thing Krug can take solace in after such a tough loss, is that his team will be returning a slew of talented players including Neumayer, Anthony Irvine, Kurt Dhyse, and Myke Schmidt.

Owen-Gage may be contemplating next season in another few days, as they face Kingston in the Regional opener. However, Howard and his team are entering with the right attitude (they are going to enjoy the experience of playing at Saginaw Heritage) that might just allow them to pull the upset of the century.

I don't believe that is what is going to happen, but I also didn't think the Bulldogs would score 75 points either (although I did pick them to win the District). I guess it just proves that anything is possible at this time of year, an upset of the Cardinals included.

The Hatchets are sent home

Well, the up-and-down season for Bad Axe has come to an end... on a down note.

The Hatchets, who seemed to come out of nowhere in the final month to make the GTW a four-team race, suffered a disappointing 66-48 loss to Reese at the Class C Districts last night.

Just a quick look at the score and it looks like Bad Axe crumbled under the pressure. Hatchet's coach Bob Breault agreed, saying that his team talked about being ready for a game of this magnitude but emotionally they weren't.

I agree with Breault's thoughts, but I'm going to take it a step further. I think the reason the team wasn't emotionally up to the task turned out to be a total confidence issue. In fact, after Reese beat the Hatchets in the last week of the regular season, Breault explained that he thought his team was capable of winning the District, but wondered if his team believed they could.

I think that heading out on the floor against the Rockets yesterday w/o Chris Cove and Jason Brown in the starting line-up (illness/injury) any belief they were holding onto went right out the window. Cove and Brown did make it on the court and did their best to contribute, but they just didn't have it (Cove had three points, Brown zero).

But those two players need to be commended for going out and competing; Brown with a hurt ankle and Cove fighting through the one-two punch of a concussion and a sickness. Even in the early minutes of the game, when Cove entered, it was apparent that he was not the player we have all become accustomed to seeing.

For those who haven't seen Bad Axe play, Cove is a dynamic 6'7" guard who a sharp shooter from outside. Last night you could tell "the lights were on but nobody was home" and that Cove was really in a fog from his injury/illness.

I'll give Brown and Cove their props for going out there not at 100 percent and still trying to contribute. We live in such an "alpha male" society that had these players sat out of such a high stakes, they would have had their manhood questioned. Now that they stepped up and played, they should receive the same level of appreciation that they would have received in criticism.

Looking ahead to next season, the teams loses just four players from this year's post-season roster, although the loss of Cove is a big one.

However, with the "Man Child" Brad Iskow and Tim Rader returning for their senior years, I've got a feeling that the Hatchets will fulfill the potential they were never really able to fully tap into this season.

See you in the morning

For some reason this has been a particularly difficult blog to write tonight.
Is it the fact that the Hatchets, the team I predicted to win this district, lost 66-48 to Reese in the semi-finals last night? Or maybe it just knowing that even with nearly 50 hours in this week already in, I've still got another 40 to go?
Either way, I'm going to just to have to pack it in for the night and take another crack at it in the morning.

North Huron/Owen-Gage volleyball prediction

In all fairness to the Class C basketball Districts, the Buldogs and Warriors will be playing an equally meaningful volleyball match tonight. North Huron, who swept Owen-Gage in Districts earlier in the week, will try beat them for the second time this week when the NCTL North title is on the line (the team's tied in the regular season heading into the finale which was postponed for weather/weather complications).
So who do you think will be the champs? Post your thoughts.

Reese/Bad Axe predictions...

Who's going to meet the Patriots in the finals?

Patriots advance in District Day 3

It was another good night for the USA Patriots, who advance to the Class C District finals for the third straight year after beating EPBP 59-48.

Despite what coach Mark Gainforth considers to be a relatively inexperienced team, the Patriots are playing like they've been there before.

The other night I talked about Taylor Cramer who had 20 points against Ubly, well he followed that with 12 more tonight , which included three more triples. That gives him nine in the last two games for anyone who is counting.

The thing that really impresses Gainforth about this kid is how he in recent weeks he has really began to understand the role he is needed to play on this team. One of which being to know when to shoot and when not too.

Speaking of shooting the lights out, that is exactly what Brandon Bitzer did against Lakers scoring 19 points, which included a 4-for-7 effort from the free throw line and a triple.

While his shooting was really on last night (well it will be last night by the time this is posted), I was most impressed with his poise.

During one sequence, EPBP hit a three to pull within 10 and then used a team out. They came out of that discussion using full court pressure and caused back-to-back turnovers and scores to cut the lead down to six with enough time remaining to make this interesting.

Just went it looked like USA was going to try and force a lay-up (giving Lakers the chance to cut it to four or three on a miss or block), Bitzer pulled it out, worked the ball around the outside and started to work away the clock.

That was a heck of a move; a veteran one.

No I'm not going to say it was a "Jordan-esque" move or compare Brandon's performance to anything his brother accomplished, because that's not fair to him.

Brandon is his own player and even though he is averaging just eight ppg, has shown the potential to be one of the better players around here for the next few years. He deserves to enjoy that being judged on his own merits for what he does.

To do otherwise would be like to compare the career of a first-year intern to a current "star" in the company. Could the intern be a star, maybe or maybe not? Maybe this will just be a solid hand or a very good one, but never great. Either way they deserve the chance to find out and that takes time.

I really believe Brandon needs to be afforded that to. I know tonight when talking to Gainforth, I stopped myself before I asked the "Jordan question". I'm trying to continue to do that in future game when Brandon shines as well.

As for the Lakers, this game was truly a microcosm of their season. They were up-and-down throughout different stretches of the season and they played that way at different times last night. It might be difficult for the team to develop much consistency next season as the Lakers are losing six players to graduation, including at least three that logged serious minutes.

True next year they should have at least six seniors, but they will also lose them as well. If there is one characteristic I'm starting to notice on successful programs is bringing kids up as sophomores. Now looking at a lot of these post-season rosters you don't see a lot of 10th graders, but how may players that you do so where on the team as sophomores?

Probably a lot. What I like about bringing a few talented guys up early is that despite taking some bumps and bruises that first year while adjusting to the difference in the level of play compared to JV, these athletes will be better prepared when the team is ready to make a post-season run a year or two down the line.

My point is, maybe the key to a successful season in 07-08 for EPBP is to bring one or two of those type players up next season and built for one or two years further in the future.

Whether that happens or not remains to be seen. But one thing that is known is that Anthony Goins should be a go-to player on next year's squad.

Now looking at his 4.5 ppg regular season average , you may say, "What you talking about Willis?" (The first one to post where the reference comes from may get a prize).

But seeing his 11 points and three triples should show someone that next year, I think as a senior, he could be the star.

But as Ubly coach Joel Leipprandt pointed out to his players after losing to USA, to be a star you have to train like a star. You can't pick up a basketball on the first day of practice and hope to have a great year.

Good advice for all the area athletes to follow, especially a potential break out player like Goins. (As cool as it would be, that is not a picture of Goins, but rather one of his teammate Mark Feger).

Look for more posts tomorrow and please feel to post your predictions for tomorrow night's Reese/Bad Axe game. I'll start a separate post for it and will chime in once there are a few responses.

Best hoops movie...

Just another chance for you bloggers to share your thoughts. With the District tournament underway and NCAA March Madness just around the corner, it might be time to catch a good basketball movie to get in the right mood before hoops disrupts our normal viewing habits.
So if were going to get your pre-NCAA fix with a hoops video, what would it be? Here's the only catch... it's got to be something other than Hoosiers (I've got a feeling that would have been all of our answers).
I'm going to have to think of my answer for this one; it is a stumper. I'll post it later this morning.

Who would be your Player of the Year?

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was going to be giving Kevin Ginther my vote for Player of the Year when the Thumb Sportswriters Association votes tomorrow. It made me wonder who the rest of you would vote for.
So post your thoughts on Player of the Year and be sure to include your reasoning. While it won't have any barring on what we do tomorrow, but I think it will be neat to see what the general consensus on the blog is.
Here are the criteria (there's only one)... Players must be from one of the following teams: Akron-Fairgrove, Bad Axe, Brown City, Caro, Carsonville-Port Sanilac, Caseville, Cass City, Croswell-Lexington, Deckerville Harbor Beach, Kingston, Lakers, Marlette Mayville, Millington, North Branch Wesleyan, North Huron, Owendale-Gagetown, Peck, Port Hope, Reese , Sandusky, Ubly, Unionville-Sebewaing and Vassar.

North Huron wins District

The North Huron volleyball team brought home another District volleyball title (don't quote me but I think that is three in a row) beating Owen-Gage in three games in the finals.
Ironically, the Class D District title game will be a pre-cursor to deciding the NCTL North title (no, that's not a mis-print). The teams were tied heading into a head-to-head match-up that was postponed to weather related issues and will make up that game on Thursday.
I would have to say this win for North Huron should give them a psychological edge heading into the league finale. However, win or lose, the Warriors will compete this Saturday in the Class D Regional at Port Hope.
Photographer Steve Jias was at tonight's game and we'll post a picture with this story when they come in some time in the next game.

Tuesday Night Hoops action

Harbor Beach's seven-game win streak came to an end as the Pirates lost to Reese 59-45 tonight.
The Rockets defense was the story of the night. Harbor Beach coach Ron Wruble explained that his team isn't used to facing that intense of a "D" and it frustrated them.
It was a struggle all night for the Harbor Beach offense, who were held scoreless for the first 4:24 of the first quarter until Tom Sorenson connected on a pair of free throws to break ice.
Sorenson was the offensive star of the game for the Pirates, scoring a team-high 14 points. Not bad for a guy who averaged less than two ppg in the regular season and had a previous high game of five points vs. Sandusky.
He will be one of just four players (all juniors) who will potentially return from the post-season roster as the Pirates lose nine players.
Of those nine, none will be more missed than Kevin Ginther, who averaged over 19 ppg during the regular season and shot around 73 percent from the line.
When the Thumb Sportswriters Association holds it meeting tomorrow and votes on our All-Thumb teams, Coach of the Year, Team of the Year, and Player of the Year in basketball and volleyball, he will be getting my nod in hoops for bets player.
Each week in our three papers, to supplement our scoring leaders, we had our "Power 10". This list was comprised by giving points for how players fared in categories of scoring, free throw percent, three-pointers per game, and best game. Players were awarded 10 points for first (15 for scoring as there were 15 players listed), nine for second, etc.
Needless to say, Ginther finished on top of that list every week.
Other key losses from this year will be Darren Essenmacher, who emerged as the Scottie Pippen to Ginther's Jordan this season. The two provided a very formidable one-two punch, one of the best in the area.
Perhaps the player I'm saddest to see go is Alex Titus, a senior who injured his knee late in last Friday's win over Marlette that helped 'Beach win a league title.
Titus was Harbor Beach's spark plug. He was one of their top long rebounders, a good defender, and most importantly brought a lot of energy on the court with him. He was the heart and soul of this team in many ways.
It's too bad for him personally that he had to spend his final game of his high school basketball career on the bench, but is also was too bad for the team. What Titus brought every game is what the Pirates were sorely missing against the Rockets.
As for Reese, I still don't know how to feel about them. Even in a convincing win (scorewise), I was somewhat impressed, but am not completely won over yet.
By the way, I saw Bad Axe coach Bob Breault and several of his players at the game amongst the other dignitaries (Dick Holdship, Curly Messing, Caseville coach Jim Quinn, and USA coach Mark Gainforth looking like a Reese fan in his CMU gear).
I think I'm going to start calling Bob the "professor". At several points in the game, I saw him sitting near a specific player and pointing things out to them. While I couldn't hear what they were saying, I imagine Breault was priming them for Thursday's game, which should be a doozy.
I'm sticking with my pick of the Hatchets to win that as well as the entire District.
I'll be back tomorrow night after the game to share my thoughts. Feel free to post your thoughts, predictions... Just post (and tell a friend)!

Welcome to the Blog/Monday recap

For those of you who have found the blog already, I just wanted to say welcome and hope you enjoy it. I will be posting thoughts and maybe a pic or two from the games I'll be covering during the week.

I'll be at the Class C District in Reese all week and will also be over in Caseville for the Class D finals on Friday. Add in State Wrestling Individual Finals and Volleyball Regionals and it's a long but enjoyable week.

It's March Madness baby!

As for last night's game between USA and Ubly (Patriots won 56-51), all I can say is Taylor Cramer. I had a feeling he might have a special tournament after he put up 17 in USA's 63-61 OT win over Reese last Friday.

Turns out I was right. Cramer scored 20 (eclipsing his previous season high of 19 against Bad Axe) and connected on six triples. For the season, Cramer is averaging over two triples a game.

Tim Holland also added 11 for USA and Isaiah Jackson 10. USA coach Mark Gainforth had this to say on Holland, who was playing in just his third game after returning from an ankle injury:

"He was a little sluggish; he was a little stationery. He’s got to play a lot of minutes, but he’s probably not in game shape (yet). We’ve got to get more movement, but obviously he doesn’t have the lift that he used. He is a big part of our offense, he played a pretty average game for Tim Holland, but he still in double figures so that helps us a lot. "

Holland exploded for 21 in his return game against EPBP last week, but has come down to earth in the last two games. Even though he isn't playing at 100 percent, once his teammates get used to having him back out on the court he should see more touches underneath and thus more points.

Speaking of not playing at 100 percent, that may have been what did Ubly in. Last night marked the return of Jeremy Kubacki, a starter who was out all last week with an illness.

Kubacki's was the team's second leading scorer during the regular season, averaging 13.4 ppg and 2.5 three-pointers a game, but was held to just two points in limited action. As Bearcat's coach Joel Leipprandt explained it, “He was still a little bit behind after missing all of last week.”

While the this is a disappointing end for Bearcat's fans, the future looks really bright. They could return 11 players from this year's post-season roster including four starters.

That is all well and good, but as Leipprandt said they need to get after in the off-season if they want things to improve next year.

As for the Caseville District, no surprises in the opener as Owen-Gage took care of the Eagles 57-47. From what I've been told it wasn't as close as the score indicates.

I'll say this is a good start for the Bulldogs, who I picked to win this District (beating North Huron in the finals). With the Newsweekly Player of the Year Brandon Dubs and All-Newsweekly 1st-Teamer Eric Zaleski, I think this team has the firepower it takes to win this District. The Regional is another story...

As for Caseville, this marks the end of their run of four straight District titles. If anyone deserved a fifth one after the rough season he's had it is Caseville coach Jim Quinn, who I think is one of if not the best coaches in the Thumb. He always finds ways to get by even when the cupboards get a little bare.

He didn't pull it out this season, but heading into the 07-08 campaign, sight unseen as to what their roster looks like, I've got to believe that Quinn can make his team a contender again.

I'll be back late tonight or early tomorrow with my thoughts on tonight's game. Post your thoughts on the games, post your predictions, just post!