Numerous games to end regular season

Does 70 hoop games in the next 11 days sound like a loaded buffet of action? It sure does to me. And that’s exactly the number of tilts left on the associated Southern Alberta Girls and 4A Boys High School Basketball Leagues’ 2017-18 regular season slates, which conclude March 3. Wow. One person who I know will be worked extra hard chronicling the results is

www.SouthHoops.ca operator Ronna McKee. She’s aided by a plethora of folks around the loops who help provide info.

There are no playoffs in the varsity divisions of the loops, so the regular-season champs are the champs. Exponentially adding to the varsity regularseason importance is that league standings are the only method of seeding for the South Zone 4A Basketball Championships, coming up in a fortnight.

Each varsity team has a 14game regular season slate this campaign. Setting the scene at the top of the varsity tables heading into tonight’s action Cardston leads 4A Boys at 10-0, Magrath is 9-1, with LCI and Raymond sporting 7-4 marks. Looking for some super-heated showdowns this week? Allow me to suggest Magrath at Cardston Friday and Magrath at Raymond Saturday.

Raymond has fashioned an unblemished 8-0 varsity girls mark. Magrath (7-3), Cardston (6-2) and LCI (6-3) surely have a late run to the top spot as a goal, however. Cardston at Raymond tonight, Cardston at LCI Friday and Magrath at Raymond Saturday are surely value-added affairs.

Regularly in these leagues, weeknight games go at 6/8 p.m., with Saturday events at 1/3 p.m. for the girls and boys playing at 5/7 p.m. However, there are so many games at this time of the season some Friday venues host four showdowns beginning at 2 p.m.

As well, be it Friday or Saturday, the administrations of all schools involved have agreed that in cases where there are four games between the same schools the order will be junior varsity girls/ JV boys/varsity girls/varsity boys.

Magrath at Raymond is the first example this Saturday. JV girls (1 p.m.), will be followed by JV boys (3 p.m.), varsity girls (5 p.m.) and varsity boys (7 p.m.). Sounds like a party to me.

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The Southern Alberta loops do have JV playoffs, held zones week March 5-10. In terms of regular-season races, Cardston (72), Medicine Hat High (6-2), Magrath (6-2), LCI (6-3) and Taber W.R. Myers (5-4) are all in with a chance in JV Girls. The top of the JV Boys table sees Chinook (10-2), Cardston (9-1) and LCI (9-2) can still top the table.

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The second official Alberta Schools Athletic Association 2017-18 basketball rankings came out last Friday. Here’s the South Zone representation:

4A Boys - Cardston (3), Magrath (7), LCI (9).

4A Girls - Magrath (3), Raymond (5), LCI (6), Cardston (8), Medicine Hat High (Honourable Mention, which means between 11-15). 3A Boys - Medicine Hat McCoy (10). 3A Girls - W.R. Myers (3), McCoy (5), Medicine Hat Crescent Heights (HM).

2A Boys - Claresholm Willow Creek (2), Immanuel Christian (6), Kainai (9).

2A Girls - Immanuel Christian (3), Kainai (4), Picture Butte (6), Coaldale Kate Andrews (HM.)

1A Boys - Lundbreck Livingstone (2), Stirling (3), Nanton J.T. Foster (5), Taber St. Mary’s (6), Bow Island Senator Gershaw (HM).

1A Girls - Foremost (1), Stirling (2), Milk River Erle Rivers (7), Senator Gershaw (HM.)

The final rankings of the regular season are scheduled to drop (yes, an old dog, trying to learn a new word trick) March 1.

Four of the eight provincials are set to be hosted by South Zone teams, March 15-17. Hat High presents both 4As, Kainai 2A Girls and Willow Creek 2A Boys. Good luck to area grapplers who head off to Sexsmith for the ASAA Rural Provincial Wrestling Championships this Friday and Saturday. Wrestling is organized differently than other ASAA sports as this event is one of three qualifiers (Edmonton and Calgary get their own) for the overall ASAA Provincial Wrestling Championships March 9-10. Where are they you ask? Why Hat High, of course.

WELLSIE’S WORLD — To me, one of the most challenging tasks on the local sporting scene is assignor for the Southern Basketball Officials Association. This year, debuting assignor Paul Rocca had about 50 high school tournaments to supply, plus games in six high school leagues.

Yikes.

Then toss in special requests from other levels. He must do all this working around the fact that over 10 officials could be working college and/or university games at the same time as high school contests. This season there have been way more weather postponements than I’ve ever seen before, too.

It’s a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.

Thanks Paul.

And now, for a little Wellsie rant that I have to really reach to relate to the local sporting scene. To set up a link: Good luck to the University of Lethbridge men’s basketball team as they head north to Edmonton to face the University of Alberta Golden Bears in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal that tips Friday. This is the first time U of L men have been in the now 17-team circuit’s semis since 2000. Winning the series earns the lads a trip to nationals. Now for the rant part. ’Horns star guard

Dejon Burdeaux hails from Oakland, California. Oakland basketball is used twice as a plot device in the new, extraordinarily well-attended and reviewed Marvel Cinematic University movie Black Panther.

You’ll note I mentioned the boffo attendance, as has been a constant through all 18 MCU flicks. And yet, a very small percentage of attendees (at least for 17 I’ve seen personally locally in cinemas) stay through the credits, to view what are habitually highlight extra scenes interspersed and at the very end.

I am both perplexed and amazed by this continual occurrence. Come on folks, we should be trainable seals.