The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT April 6, 2011

Maybe, just maybe, there will be a spring sports season after all.

With warmer weather on the horizon soon, there's a good chance that area schools will get a chance to play those games that athletic directors rushed to schedule between the basketball and wrestling madness in late January.

Then again, we could also be in for a long wait for the resumption of some key sporting events in the area.

SHOULD THE rain continue to fall on area baseball fields, it could be a quick finish to the season, as teams will try to play anywhere from three to four times a week to fit them in.

Who knows, things could always improve, but I'm not totally convinced that the rain that pounded the area during spring break has completely left the area quite yet.

Not that a ton of games have been postponed due to the weather so far, but face it, we're in North Idaho, of course something crazy will happen.

Last year, while covering the state 5A golf tournament, Monday's opening round seemed like the best day of the year for golf.

No rain, just a little wind and most importantly, no problems when it came to the weather.

That second day - well, all the teams were already here, so a downpour of rain and a ton of wind wasn't going to stop them from settling the state championships.

Rain and snow in Boise during the state softball tournaments and state track meet was a little out of the ordinary, but then again, so was last spring.

MEANWHILE WHEN the North Idaho College softball team broke for spring break last year, they had actually played a couple games at Memorial Field.

While they've played a couple of home series, they haven't been anywhere near Memorial Field this season.

In early March, the team had to move games against in-state rival Southern Idaho to Moses Lake to get them in. A four-game set between NIC and Salt Lake was moved to Coeur d'Alene High, before unplayable conditions moved the series to Finucane Park in Hayden.

NIC is scheduled to host Snow College this weekend to be followed by a matchup with Western Nevada to close out the home schedule on April 15-16.

Hopefully a few games are played at Memorial, but like everything in the spring, stay tuned.

REMAINING OPTIMISTIC that I will play more than one round of golf this year could be a bit much to ask.

Last year, while the effort was there to make it to the driving range a couple times, getting out on the course was a different animal in itself.

Between a busy schedule and some dismal weather when the time allowed, it became difficult to get out on the course.

Hopefully this spring will be a nice change from the previous year.

Otherwise, it could be another long year just waiting for the sun to shine again.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via e-mail at [email protected].