High school picks have gone to dogs

Who let the dogs out? Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.

That song, now 20 years old, popped into The Dribbler’s head the other day when he saw a video posted on Twitter of a dog running onto the court during a basketball game.

And no, it wasn’t The Dribbler’s dog, 10 Miles. Why did he name it 10 Miles? Just so he can tell people he walks 10 Miles each day.

Apparently this incident didn’t happen locally, but it wouldn’t have surprised The Dribbler if it had considering there are a handful of WPIAL teams with canine mascots — Monessen is the Greyhounds, Freedom and BethCenter the Bulldogs, and Hampton the Talbots.

Years ago, The Dribbler had a dog that loved to chase people on a bike. It got so bad that The Dribbler had to take the bike away from him. Some called the dog fat, but he was just a little husky.

As the regular season hits its stretch run, here’s to all the dogs out there, the underdogs fighting for that final playoff spots or just trying to play spoiler. And if you have a bad game, just pug-get about it!

The Dribbler’s bite was just as big as his bark last week. He went 5-3 to improve to 28-20 (.583) this season.

Here are his thoughts on this week’s top games:

Boys

Thomas Jefferson at Chartiers Valley, 7:30 p.m. Friday — One of The Dribbler’s favorite breakfast spots, Gab & Eat, is right down the road from Chartiers Valley High School. There wasn’t too much gabbing going on surrounding this Char Valley team in the preseason, but the Colts have been eating good. They’ve lost just one section game, and with a win against Thomas Jefferson, will move pretty close to clinching a section title. Winner: Chartiers Valley.

North Catholic at Seton LaSalle, 7:30 p.m. Friday — When Isaac DeGregorio steps off the North Catholic bus, Seton LaSalle should have three players there guarding him, and it should remain that way until he gets back on the bus a few hours later. DeGregorio scored 30 points in the first half — the first half! — and finished with 33 when the Trojans walloped Seton LaSalle by 40 last month. This game will be much closer, but the winner will be the same. Winner: North Catholic.

Butler at Pine-Richland, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday — Butler has faced Pine-Richand four times the past two seasons. In those games, Butler star Ethan Morton has scored 51, 20, 40 and 33. The 33 came in an 88-84 overtime win on Jan. 7 that also saw Morton grab 23 rebounds and dish out 13 assists. This game will be up and down, high scoring and feature several momentum swings, and Morton will probably have another mammoth game. However … Winner: Pine-Richland.

Knoch at Highlands, 7:30 p.m Tuesday — O.J. didn’t do it … I’ll be there in five minutes … You saying you predicted before the season that Knoch would ascend to the No. 1 ranking in Class 4A … If Alex Trebek was nearby right now, The Dribbler would say, “I’ll take Lies for 100, please.” Sorry, The Dribbler doesn’t mean to call anyone out, but he does mean to call Knoch a legitimate WPIAL title contender. The thing is, he believes Highlands is, too. Winner: Highlands.

Girls

Mars at Plum, 6 p.m. Friday — Some fun facts about Mars: Its average distance from the sun is 142 million miles. Its tilt of axis is 25 degrees. Its star player is averaging 17 points per game. That last factoid is the most important one. Bella Pelaia is a Mount St. Mary’s recruit who scored 20 points when the Planets beat Plum, 69-47, last month. But payback might be in store. Plum has won six in a row and Kennedie Montue is third in the WPIAL in scoring. Winner: Plum.

Woodland Hills at Bethel Park, 8 p.m. Saturday — Peyton Manning was a great quarterback, but he wasn’t as clutch as Woodland Hills’ Peyton Pinkney, who sank not one, but two winning shots in the final seconds of games last week. The second one came in overtime to end Oakland Catholic’s lengthy win streak. If this game goes down to the wire, edge to Pinkney and the Wolverines. Unbeaten Bethel Park, though, won’t let it get to that point. Winner: Bethel Park.

Trinity at Chartiers Valley, 7:30 p.m. Monday — Forty-six. That’s what Chartiers Valley’s win streak stood at entering Thursday’s game at Thomas Jefferson. If you’re wondering — The Dribbler sure was — the previous team to defeat the Colts was Harbor Creek, ending the Colts’ season in the first round of the 2018 PIAA playoffs. Trinity pushed the Colts to the limit earlier this month before falling, 62-56. This could be another tight one, but … Winner: Chartiers Valley.

Norwin at North Allegheny, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday — Snow touched down in Western Pa. over the weekend, but on Jan. 2, Norwin used rain to dispatch of North Allegheny, making 11 3-pointers in a 63-55 win. Norwin’s forecast for winning the Class 6A Section 1 title went from partly cloudy to mostly sunny that night. And if the Knights can repeat their achievement on North Allegheny’s home court, meteorologists and prognosticators alike will predict a Norwin title. Winner: Norwin.