Getting an early start is key to success

The Dribbler has a lot of fans, so many that he sometimes gets blown away.

One of them emailed him last week asking him why he is called The Dribbler and not The Traveler? It’s a valid question, especially when you take into account his clumsiness and the fact that his cousin is The Fumbler.

The thing is, The Dribbler was The Dribbler long before he ever picked the winner of a basketball game for the first time. Back then the only winners he picked came out of his nose. You see, he first got the nickname when he was just nine months old.

To this day, his great aunt — OK, she’s better than average — kids around with The Dribbler by asking him, “Why are babies so good at basketball?” When he responds with “I dunno,” she says, “Because they’re always dribbling!”

And there it is, that right there is why The Dribbler is The Dribbler. From what he hears, he dribbled more over the course of a day than Pistol Pete did in a season. Only it wasn’t with a basketball and he didn’t look anywhere near as cool doing it.

Luckily, The Dribbler stopped doing that sort of dribbling a long time ago.

He still tries to avoid eating next to basketball players, though. After all, they dribble all the time.

Week 1 of the playoffs saw The Dribbler go 6-2, moving his season mark to 34-19.

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

Boys

Elizabeth Forward at Deer Lakes, 6 p.m. Thursday — When the Warriors drop a game, should they call themselves Elizabeth Backward? And how come when The Dribbler goes to watch the Lancers play, he never sees any deer or lakes? Both teams finished second in their sections — EF behind Belle Vernon and Deer Lakes behind North Catholic. The Warriors are young and have a bright future, but the Lancers are a little better right now. Winner: Deer Lakes.

Laurel at Washington, 6 p.m. Thursday — The Upset Special. If a No. 12 beats a No. 5 every year in the Big Dance, it has to happen in the WPIAL Dance, too, right? Sure, Laurel is just 11-10, but The Dribbler just has a feeling this team might be able to make a run. The Spartans have that twin thing going on with the Haswell brothers, and have some other guys capable of filling the bucket, too. Washington is talented and has been on a roll, but … Winner: Laurel.

Butler at Penn-trafford, 6 p.m. Friday — Not many people are talking about Penn-trafford. The Warriors finished third in their section after all. But it says here that they have earned some hype. They have won six in a row, including victories against Chartiers Valley, Central Catholic and Norwin. Butler has the ultra-talented Devin

Carney and Mattix Clement, but despite that, a part of The Dribbler wants to take PennTrafford. He just can’t do it, though. Winner: Butler.

Pine-richland at Hempfield, 6 p.m. Friday — If Joey from Friends, Joey from Full House or Joey from Blossom were WPIAL basketball fans, they might be a big fan of Pine-richland. Two of Pine’s top players are named Joey — Joey Petcash and Joey Dudkowski. The Dribbler doesn’t know if either of them have dreams of an acting career, but he knows they have dreams of winning a WPIAL title. They’ll take a big step toward it Friday. Winner: Pine-richland.

Girls

Albert Gallatin at Thomas Jefferson, 6 p.m. Thursday — The Upset Special Part Deux. Remember the movie ‘Hot Shots! Part Deux’ with Charlie Sheen? OK, so you probably don’t. Well, Albert Gallatin has a hot shot of its own in Bryn Bezjak, one of the WPIAL’S top scorers who scored 25 in the preliminary round. This is the 4-13 game in Class 5A. TJ is experienced, but as The Dribbler said last week, Bezjak and AG could make a run. Winner: Albert Gallatin.

Oakland Catholic at Mckeesport, 6 p.m. Thursday — This is the Gwen Stefani Special, as in there’s no doubt this is an intriguing matchup. Mckeesport is 15-4 with its best win coming at No. 5 Woodland Hills. At 11-9, Oakland Catholic’s record isn’t as shiny, but its win against Chartiers Valley surely opened some eyes. The Eagles can beat just about any 5A team on any given night, but The Dribbler will side with the more consistent team. Winner: Mckeesport.

Blackhawk at Knoch, 6 p.m. Friday — Knoch and Yough played each other in a boys playoff game earlier this week. Now we get Knoch and Blackhawk on the girls side. This 4-5 game in Class 4A is one of the better quarterfinal matchups. Knoch is 9-1 and Blackhawk 13-5. Blackhawk impressed The Dribbler by almost upsetting unbeaten Beaver late in the regular season. Knoch has the better seed and record, but Blackhawk is the better team. Winner: Blackhawk.

Montour at Quaker Valley, 6 p.m. Friday — The Dribbler used to go to all-you-can-eat-wing nights at Quaker Steak & Lube back when he could smash three dozen in one sitting. His go-to flavors were hot and garlic parmesan. Do Quaker Valley players go to Quaker Steak? Montour and Quaker Valley are among four teams still alive from Class 4A Section 2. QV beat the Spartans by 19 on Feb. 2. Look for a similar result this time. Winner: Quaker Valley.