The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT Mar. 6, 2010
No matter what happens on the final day of the high school boys state basketball tournament in the Treasure Valley, be prepared for the most exciting month of the year when it comes to sports.
WITH THE NCAA beginning to wind down its regular season and enter into the various conference tournaments, the intensity level increases with each game as many teams either win or find themselves on the outside of the NCAA tournament looking in.
Once the "Big Dance" tips off, every college basketball fan, as well as those novice to the game, fill out their brackets, attempting to win their office pool.
Fans root for teams like George Mason, which went from a fairly unknown to a Final Four contender a few years ago, and root against teams like Duke, because they have a history of winning.
Regardless of who you're rooting for, the games are nothing short of outstanding for the next three weeks, along with the Final Four in under a month.
Right after the buzzer blares on the Final Four, the start of the Major League Baseball season comes, giving those fans deprived of something to watch on Sunday afternoons plenty with the Mariners on Fox Sports and an ESPN and TBS game of the week each Sunday until October.
AS AREA schools finish the high school basketball season, teams that advanced to the state tournament in both basketball and wrestling don't get much of a time to rest, with spring sports starting soon after.
Taking a look back, it was going to be a difficult task to send six teams from North Idaho into the boys championship round today at the Idaho Center. Both Post Falls and Priest River will vie for a state title today representing the northern part of the state.
Should either of those teams win, both will have earned it after a three-day battle against the best that the state has to offer.
Coeur d'Alene's wrestling team should have every reason to be excited. Not only did they bring home their first state title last weekend - but they may have sent a message to the rest of the state that the teams up north will be ones to watch for years to come.
THIS IS why I believe this is the best time of the season - because you never know what to expect.
When it comes to the NCAA tournament, sometimes the best team doesn't end up being the one that wins at the final buzzer.
In fact, some of the better games in the tournament usually involve the smaller schools (Gonzaga five years ago) beating teams that they aren't supposed to.
Should the NCAA opt to expand the tournament field, that will take away the three-week drama and instead, turn it into an extended regular season, where those smaller school will have less a chance to make the tournament interesting with more big-name schools in the tournament.
No matter what your favorite sport is, there will not be any lack of entertainment from now until the summer months.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by phone at 664-0239 or via e-mail at [email protected].