tourney time

Basketball tournament time is always exciting, and I've always particularly enjoyed the girls tournament. I can't explain completely why I enjoy the high school girls game more than the boys. I believe it's largely because the girls tend to play more team-oriented basketball. I can't say for sure, but I suspect it is because the girls players tend to have less of an ego than the boys. Even at this level, a lot of male players think they are better than they are, and the game for some teams is much more of a one-on-one endeavor.
But that's a tangent for another time. The point is that I am excited about the girls tournaments and have been following the results vigilantly. Sadly, the Herald lost one of its playoff teams tonight when Newington fell to NFA on the road. Nonetheless, I cannot underestimate how impressed I was with the job Al Ford and the Indians did this year. I had no expectations for them at the start of the year, and they certainly proved me, and many others, wrong.
For the record, I'll say that the sports staff has a tradition of doing a girls tournament pool (don't worry, no money on the line). It's been hotly contested the past two years, and invariably seems to come down to championship Saturday to decide it.
While I can't share everybody's picks, I'll say that my picks for the finals are as follows:
Class LL: New Britain over Bulkeley
Class L: Kolbe Cathedral over Wethersfield
Class M: Avon over Plainville
Class S: St. Paul over Bolton
That would be a very successful tournament for local teams, who I'll be rooting for heavily. I believe five locals will reach the semifinals of their tournament, with three in the finals. Maybe I'm a "homer". I hope it hasn't clouded my judgement.

The Class LL bracket as expected is stacked. Consider potential quarterfinals of Career Magnet vs. Trinity Catholic, Holy Cross vs. Southington, Mercy vs. Bulkeley. Even a second round Windsor vs. Holy Cross matchup is pretty epic, with the Warriors far better than their record shows. Seriously, anybody of about 10 teams could win this tournament, and others like East Catholic are sure to cause problems in the next round for some powers.
Class L isn't bad either. Wethersfield, Notre Dame-Fairfield, Northwest Catholic, Kolbe, Stonington. That's a pretty solid list.
On the other hand, I expect upsets by the seedings in the early rounds for M. I'm not convinced in the least of the strength of the top Shoreline Conference teams like East Hampton and Morgan, and I expect both to be gone early. But it is the one class where I'd say there is a clear favorite, and that's Avon.
As always, I know the least about Class S, other than that CSC teams (that's the former tech school conference that now includes SMSA, Capital Prep, Classical Magnet and others) cannot hang with others. Capital's win in the first round says a lot about them. They are a step above the rest in that league and can be competitive outside the conference.
But I expect St. Paul's experience against much larger schools to pay off. While the Falcons were the fifth best team in the Northwest this year, I picked them to run all the way through Class S. Another team that I think could make a good run is Bloomfield, which had injuries at times during the year and is healthy now, and more battle-tested than most in the bracket.

Well, I'll be at a lot of games this week and next. If I could go to two in a day, I'd do it.