I’m racing across the boys’ basketball playoff brackets
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Just in case you were distracted by a bunch of Dales and Jeffs driving around in circles today, let me be the first to remind you that the Southern Section released its boys’ basketball playoff brackets this afternoon. Here’s a few things I noticed while racing across the divisions:
Chaminade makes the cut -- It’s great to see the Eagles made the postseason even though they’re going up against Pioneer-slayers Dominguez in the first round. I know Chaminade has had its ups and downs, but its victory over Harvard-Westlake last week coupled with its competitive showing against Loyola on Wednesday convinced me they deserved a free pass to the first round. Plus, maybe the Southern Section was trying to buy back some redemption for keeping the Chaminade football team out of the postseason. Alemany also made it as a wild-card entry.
Crespi Challenge -- There isn’t going to be much wiggle room for the Celts over the next week. I know they’re capable of beating Long Beach Wilson in the first round, but they’ll likely face Simi Valley in the quarterfinals. And let’s just say the third-seeded Pioneers have to be considered the best team in Division I-AA. Good luck, Celts.
Foothill Six -- All six Foothill League teams qualified for postseason competition for the first time, with Canyon, Hart and Golden Valley making the Division II-AA dance as wild-card teams. I’m a little surprised the Grizzlies got in, especially when you consider they went 0-10 in league play. However, they did beat some OK teams in nonleague play, and they should beat Burbank on Wednesday.
Golden League gamble -- Don’t look for a repeat of last year’s first-round stumble by all the Golden League representatives. League co-champions Knight (who put together a great comeback to take the title) shouldn’t have any problems against Atascadero on Friday and Highland should have Camarillo’s number. Don’t look for third-place Lancaster to be a first-round casualty, either.
Frontier rematch? -- Last Wednesday’s showdown in the Shark Tank between Malibu and St. Bonaventure lived up to the hype and, hopefully, we’ll get a chance to see these rivals play again. Both teams were paired up on the opposite sides of the Division V-A bracket and both teams are my favorite to meet up again in the finals at the end of the month.
If you haven’t seen the playoff brackets by now, go here or download it here.
Oh, and NASCAR is really boring. I wasted about three hours of my life this morning watching guys talk about ‘those darn restrictor plates.’ Just let the cars go 220 mph -- that would be cool!
-- Austin Knoblauch
-- Image from http://media.canada.com