Bouncing balls are music to the ears

With a large tub of popcorn by his side, The Dribbler sat on his couch watching the Grammy Awards Sunday night.

Did you know The Dribbler has two grammys himself? Sure, and he has two grandpas, too.

Lizzo won best pop solo performance for her song “Truth Hurts.” The Dribbler likes the song, but it’s a painful reminder that only six boys teams and six girls teams will win WPIAL titles next month. Most teams will exit the tournament empty handed.

“No Geography” by The Chemical Brothers won for best dance/electronic album. Someone joked that the WPIAL actually wrote the song, considering they sometimes place teams in the same section that are light years away from one another.

One of Sunday’s winners has a Pittsburgh connection. Dan + Shay captured the award for best country duo/ group performance for “Speechless.” The Dan part of that duo, Dan Smyers, is a 2006 North Allegheny graduate. His senior year, the Tigers won a section basketball title.

Also winning trophies were Tyler, the Creator (apparently not Highlands coach Tyler Stoczynski) and Elvis Costello and The Imposters (some WPIAL title imposters will be weeded out early in the playoffs).

The Dribbler leaves you with this question: What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft? A-flat miner.

The Dribbler went 6-2 last week and is now 34-22 (.607) on the season.

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

Boys

Blackhawk at Ambridge, 7:30 p.m. Friday — On the mystery scale, trying to make sense of Class 4A Section 2 is right up there with the Bermuda Triangle. Which team is the best? Blackhawk, Ambridge, New Castle or Quaker Valley? Heck, you can even make a case for Central Valley. There’s a chance Blackhawk could win the title despite having an overall losing record. At this point, about all The Dribbler can do is flip a coin. Winner: Blackhawk.

North Catholic at Central Catholic, 3 p.m. Saturday — The Dribbler suggests these schools create the first Directional Catholic School Tournament next season. Maybe they can invite West Catholic from Philadelphia and East Catholic from Connecticut. To add some irony, use only referees who are Protestant. What do you think? North Catholic may be a Class 3A school, but the Trojans have already beaten three Class 6A teams this season. Winner: North Catholic.

Mt. Lebanon at Upper St. Clair, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday — It’s South Hills Village vs. The Galleria. Sean Casey vs. Don Kelly. Anthony Jeselnik vs. Joe Manganiello. Kirk

Ferentz vs. Mark Cuban. How’s that for some heavy hitters? These South Hills neighbors met earlier this month, with Mt. Lebanon seizing a 6356 home win. Mt. Lebanon has been so good in section play the past few seasons, winning 38 of its past 42 games. A rare loss is coming. Winner: Upper St. Clair.

Penn Hills at McKeesport, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday — Well, well, well. Just when it looked like Penn Hills was about to run away with the Class 5A Section 1 title, Laurel Highlands upset the Indians last Friday, opening the door for McKeesport to grab at least a share of the title. The Tigers lost to Penn Hills, 78-64, three weeks ago. When the two met at McKeesport a year ago, Penn Hills won by 33. The Tigers have dropped seven in a row to the Indians overall. Winner: Penn Hills.

Girls

Laurel vs. Vincentian, Noon Saturday — This game is part of the Shootout at Sewickley Academy. Class 1A power Vincentian has been shooting the ball well, and has won seven of its last eight games. The Dribbler just wishes Vincentian had a player named Hardy. That way Laurel and Hardy would share the same court. Winner: Vincentian.

Fox Chapel at Seneca Valley, 7:30 p.m. Monday — North Allegheny, Norwin, Bethel Park and Mt. Lebanon. Chances are one of those teams will win the WPIAL Class 6A title. Fox Chapel and Seneca Valley are among those that will try to play the spoiler role. For now, they’re looking to lock up playoff spots behind North Allegheny and Norwin in Section 1. Seneca Valley suffered a fourpoint loss to Fox Chapel on Jan. 10, but revenge is near. Winner: Seneca Valley.

Moon at Chartiers Valley, 7:30 p.m. Monday — Rumor has it that they are now playing Aerosmith at Chartiers Valley games. Well, just one song — Livin’ on the Edge. The win streak extended to 48 games Tuesday, but there have been some close calls, most notably the buzzer-beating win at Thomas Jefferson last week. The Colts won by seven points at Moon earlier this month. Expect the rematch to be tight, as well. Winner: Chartiers Valley.

Greensburg Central Catholic at Clairton, 6 p.m. Monday — While these are two good Class 1A teams, there will be no five-star recruit on the court in this game. However, one of the coaches does have a son who was rated at that level. Clairton coach Carlton Wade, father of Penn State safety Lamont Wade, has done a fine job coaching the Bears, who are trying to win their first section title since 2003. Beat GCC, and they will earn a share of one. Winner: Clairton.