We had an interesting weekend celebrating my wife’s birthday (age will never be discussed!) over in the Columbus area. What more could a girl desire than eight basketball games in a little over 24 hours (two freshman, two junior varsity, and two varsity games watching the Granville Blue Aces and grandson Tripp as well as two sixth grade travel team games for younger grandson Bennett)? Throw in having all four grandkids and their parents present, plus two nights at the Hilton Hotel and Easton Town Centre, and Kathy was a happy but exhausted camper!
What a drive back to Darke County late Sunday morning! We left Easton a little before 11:00 in the snow and wind that came through Ohio, taking over 2 1/2 hours to get home in what is normally a 1 3/4 hour journey. About 35-40 miles per hour was the limit until you reached Springfield where the snow had already stopped before you could safely travel 50-60 mph in most areas. On the way we counted 37 vehicles in the ditches or median, the worst two incidents involving a semi across three lanes of eastbound I-70 near I-270 west of Columbus and at least two, possibly three, semis tangled on eastbound I-70 at I-75. Fortunately, most drivers drove with some semblance of caution, and hopefully, all arrived at their destinations safely!
Let’s congratulate nine boys basketball championship teams as they prepare for the start of tournament play this week—
In the Miami Valley League, Tipp’s Red Devils took home Miami Division honors, while the Yellow Jackets of Sidney won the Valley Division.
Once again Tri-Village’s Patriots claimed the Western Ohio Athletic Conference title. Russia’s Raiders, a state title favorite, won bragging rights in the Shelby County League. The Polar Bears of Northridge boast of the Three Rivers Conference crown. In the Greater Western Ohio Conference the Centerville Elks continue to set the standard.
Oakwood’s Lumberjacks captured the Buckeye Division of the Southwestern Buckeye League with the Monroe Hornets winning the Southwestern Division.
And in the always competitive Midwest Athletic Conference, it was the Blue Jays of Delphos St. John’s finishing undefeated in league play.
As mentioned, the OHSAA boys tourney starts with first-round play at the sectional/district level on Tuesday around the state. With the switch to seven divisions from four this year there will be the possibility of some unusual situations. As an example, D-I and D-II will each have only 64 schools represented, or 16 for each of the four regions around Ohio, with the remaining teams evenly distributed from D-III through D-VII, each consisting of 134 entrants.
In talking with an OHSAA representative over the weekend he pointed out an interesting bracket around central Ohio. In D-I, Lancaster has a low seed after a losing season and somehow drew a bye in the first round. They most likely will face number one-seed Olentangy Orange in the second round and, according to the rep, get hammered by a wide margin. With only sixteen teams in the region, that contest will be a district final, meaning that the Golde Gales will be awarded the trophy for being district runner-ups! Don’t be surprised if that happens more than a few times in the two largest enrollment divisions!
Just a few odds and ends to wrap up another award-winner—
How many tokens of the current edition of the board game Monopoly can you name? If you can identify more than five of eight you are a true Monopoly aficionado.
There were over 126 million viewers of the Super Bowl telecast last week, a new record. What were your thoughts about the halftime show starring Kendrick Lamar? I know I spent most of the intermission snacking on food and drinks and paying little attention to the extravaganza!
Here’s some food for thought—some estimates say there are around two billion (that’s with a B!) parking spaces in the United States, approximately six for each citizen, adding up to an area the size of West Virginia. Why is it that sometimes I can’t find one when I need one.
Finally, the latest group of eight Monopoly tokens consists of a battleship, top hat, cat, race car, Scottie dog, penguin, rubber ducky, and the ever-popular thimble. If you named three or fewer do not pass Go and do not collect $200!! Have a great week, stay active and healthy!
