Finally an extended stretch of warm, springlike temperatures even if only for five or six days!! I know many of my friends are ready to get their golf clubs cleaned and out of the garage and hit the fairways of area courses, at least before the cruel realities of early spring in the Miami Valley return.
Was it just me, or did anyone else think it was strange to see the UCLA and USC women’s basketball teams playing for the Big Ten tournament championship in Indianapolis this weekend? I guess it just kind of offended my Midwest sensibilities!
There has been a lot of blowback on the Big Ten’s money grab after expanding from coast to coast, particularly when it involves travel and the so-called “minor sports”. The four West Coast schools (Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington) all are starting to bemoan the multiple long distance trips they face as compared to the relatively few treks taken by the rest of the conference members. Not only the travel, but the disruption in the student-athletes’ academic and personal lives have emerged as major points of contention. Northwestern’s women’s basketball team even forfeited two games by refusing to fly back out to the Los Angeles area a second time after having games postponed due to the wildfires of a few weeks ago!
Speaking of travel, here’s a chance to either broaden your horizons or test your air traveler’s knowledge—how many of these major airport codes do you recognize? If your checked baggage had these tags, where would you be headed? DAY, ORD, SFO, LAX, CVG, PHX, DCA, MCO, LGA, and DFW—answers to follow!!
I saw some really good high school boys basketball at the D-VI and D-VII levels this past week. Marion Local’s Flyers took a regional title in D-VI and will play in the state semifinals later this week, their sixth trip to the Final Four over the years while Russia returns for the third consecutive season to the Final Four thanks to a D-VII crown at Wright State Saturday. Botkins, Anna, Franklin-Monroe, and Tri-Village all had reason to be proud of their district championship teams. And how about the Shelby County League placing three of its seven league members in regional finals!
On the ladies side, Fort Loramie is the only West Central Ohio team remaining as the Lady Redskins will play Waterford this Saturday at 5:15 at UD Arena for what would be their fourth state title, this time in D-VII. Hats off also to Versailles, Brookville, Anna, Arcanum, and Mississinawa Valley for district titles and Minster, winners of a regional crown and Final Four participant in D-VI.
Remember, the state semifinal pairings are at the discretion of the OHSAA based on the proximity of the final four teams in each of this year’s newly formed seven divisions as well as availability of suitable sites. The girls championship games are this Friday and Saturday as noted earlier at UD while the boys play for all of the marbles at the Arena on March 21-22.
Here’s another travel note of importance to very few but I still find interesting—according to a publication called Repairer Driven News (I know, I hadn’t heard of it either!) here are the three largest car rental companies in the US.
Number one is Enterprise Mobility, owners of Alamo, Enterprise, and National, with over 1.3 million vehicles in their fleet. Second is the Avis Budget Group, with 445,000 vehicles on hand, distributed between Avis and Payless. Finally, third with “only” 380,000 auto delights is Hertz, which includes the Dollar and Thrifty brands. And yet I still have trouble finding the car I want!!
Making the podium at the state wrestling meet held in Columbus this weekend were the following area grapplers—
In D-II Greenville’s Andrew Winner claimed fifth at 285 pounds, Presley Stewart of Eaton was fifth at 190, and Hayden Jones of Brookville took seventh at 106.
D-III action saw Spencer Shore of Miami East claim a state championship at 120 pounds, Versailles’ Trey Huber a fourth at 113, Covington’s Caleb Roman a fifth at 150, Miami East’s Lucas Shore an eighth at 113, and Versailles’ Trent Huber an eighth at 106.
On the girls’ mat, Miami East’s Kira Cole was state Titleist at 130, while Eaton’s duo of Macee Jones and Caroline Klawon placed fifth at 115 and 170, respectively. Congratulations to not only these point placers but also all who made the trip to Columbus after district qualifying—you are now free to eat whatever you want!!
Okay all of you weary air passengers here are the answers you’ve so anxiously awaited: DAY-Dayton; ORD-Chicago’s O’Hare; SFO-San Francisco; LAX-Los Angeles; CVG Cincinnati; PHX-Phoenix; DCA-Washington’s Reagan; MCO-Orlando; LGA-New York’s LaGuardia; and DFW-Dallas-Fort Worth. If you answered eight or more correctly, you are truly a world traveler; 5-7, not bad, but you need to “fly the friendly skies” a little more often; 3-4, most likely will miss your flight; and two or less, you must have been permanently grounded!
Have an active and healthy week, enjoy the warm temperatures!
