Some Super Bowl afterthoughts on the blog this week, especially with the stunning upset of the Patriots by the Giants. I ran into a lot of people, who wanted the Giants to win but picked the Patriots anyway. That's what makes the Giants win so special, they beat the unbeaten Patriots, the dynasty of the decade. Many were already to crown them the best dynasty in the history of the NFL. Considering the history that was to be made if the Pats won, from unbeaten season to four-time Super Bowl champ in 7 years, it was, in my opinion, the second biggest win in the history of the Super Bowl. I think only the Jets win over the Colts in Super Bowl III was bigger because of the culture of the times, AFL vs NFL. I hoped you watched it, since it was one Super Bowl that lived up to it's hype.

The high school basketball playoffs begin next week and if it seems it's a bit early, you are right. Easter is early this year, Sunday March 23rd, and the PIAA did not want to play it's basketball championship games Easter weekend, so everything is moved up one week.
Speaking of the playoffs, this could be a very special season in high school hoops. Going into the playoffs, you have two girls teams ranked number one in the state, Villa in AA, Mercyhurst Prep in AAA. General McLane's boys are number 2 in the state and, of course, the defending state champs. North East has lost just once all season, they are on quite a run and Cathedral Prep has looked very good lately, making one believe they could go a long way in the post-season. It is one of the best times of the year for local sports, enjoy it. We'll see where we stand in mid-March.

It is playoff time in high school basketball. A time for the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat to quote the old "Wide World of Sports" program. Afterall, only one team can win a state title in each bracket, everyone else finishes behind them. Going in, three area teams are ranked number one in their respective brackets. The Villa girls are tops in AA, Mercyhurst Prep girls number one in AAA and the General McLane Boys top the charts in AAA. Plus, other area teams, like the North East Boys at 21-1, the McDowell boys at 21-2 and the Girard girls are state ranked with high expectations in the post-season. I'm pretty sure we'll at least get one or two teams to State College in mid-March for the PIAA Finals. It should be a lotta fun over the next few weeks following these teams try to finish things off with a championship.

Now,one other post-season thought, off the court. Let the players play and the coaches coach. I've seen a few fans (probably parents) in past years, take things a little too seriously at this time of the year. Yelling at the officials or the coach or even your own son or daughter, making a fool of yourself before thousands. Remember why your son or daughter got into sports in the first place. Keep it in perspective. Sometimes the kids keep it in perspective better than the adults this time of year. Don't blame the media if your favorite team loses. We don't make up the hilites or final score, we just report on who wins and who loses. (I had one phone call telling me we were unfair to their team when they lost by 23 points) It's pretty simple, keep it that way and you'll have a lotta fun in the next month.

This week, I officially became tired of the winter weather. You know, cleaning off your car two or three times a day, trying to travel through ice and blowing snow to cover the basketball playoffs. Yes, it's officially old. So let's talk baseball. My first question for 2008......how will the fans react to the entire steriod mess this season??? And really, who's to blame ????? While players like Bonds and Clemens, Pettite and Tejada share a great deal of the blame and responsibility, don't you think baseball brass should shoulder the blame too ??? Afterall, if they knew Barry Bonds flunked a drug test a month after hitting his 73rd homer, why didn't they do anything about it. When McGuire and Sosa were capturing the attention of the nation, not just the baseball world, chasing Roger Maris' single-season home run record, fans talked about the baseball being juiced or the bats being corked when it may have been the players themselves juiced up as well. It's a shame that some of the greatest players in the last ten to fifteen years from Bonds to Clemens to McGuire may forever be rememberd for steriods and not what they did on the baseball field. Baseball turned it's head away during that time period because the home run chase was filling stadiums around the league. Now baseball may have to pay the ultimate price, their greatest stars put to shame forever. And it's not just the players who share it.

I've had the pleasure of being involved in sports all my life, played three sports in high school, played some baseball in college for a couple of years and now play a lot of golf and have done some running now and then. I always wanted to be a sportscaster, either radio or tv doing reports, anchoring, play by play, etc. So I've been lucky to do about the only thing I've always wanted to do in life so far. Sports. That's why it is a bit ironic that the Good Lord blessed me with three wonderful daughters who have absolutely NO interest in sports whatsoever. I tell you this because at this time of the year, when you step back and think about it, we give high school athletes such publicity, maybe too much. Highlights on every show, headlines in every newspaper all for the pursuit of winning a state title in football, basketball or wrestling.
What I've come to realize with my daughters is that their pursuit of sucess at the high school level requires just as much hard work, just as many long hours, just as much travelling and just as much talent. My oldest daughter Katie has made the state band competition for two years in a row, last year getting first chair playing the piccalo (I hope I spelled that correctly) more or less being the state champ with that instrument. My other daughters, Kara and Kym are involved in music, plays and singing (Kara made District Chorus as an eighth grader) But for these types of accomplishments, there are no highlights or headlines, just a lot of proud parents and siblings to share the success. It puts the sports accomplishments into perspective. To be honest, I would not want it any other way.