These predictions are for the birds
Struggling to come up with ideas to fill this space this week, The Dribbler loudly proclaimed, “This prognostication business is for the birds.”
In other words, it was time for him to make his annual visit to the National Aviary.
The Dribbler did it to clear his head, refresh for the second half of section play, and check out an array of birds that includes parrots, penguins, owls, cockatoos, ducks and something called a purple-throated fruitcrow. Guess what color his throat was?
He saw a couple of eagles, too, but none from South Park, Serra Catholic or Avella. He inquired about the hawks, but was told they weren’t Bethel Park Black Hawks or Armstrong River Hawks. And no, the jayhawk wasn’t from Jeannette.
The Dribbler wonders if Westinghouse’s leading scorer, Rodkeem Byrd, has ever been there. If so, did he get free admission?
Hey, did you hear about the pelican who took his entire family out to eat? He had a really big bill.
Last week was another big one for The Dribbler, who went 7-1 to push him to 33-6 (.846) for the season.
Here are his thoughts on this week’s top games:
Allderdice at Brashear, 3:15 p.m. Friday — If Allderdice is going to lose a City League regular-season game this season, it’s going to be Friday. Brashear hasn’t dropped a league game, is ranked No. 2 in the league behind Allderdice, and has a big scorer in Lontae Smith. Brashear is probably bullish about its chances. After all, they are the Brashear Bulls. This just in: Allderdice is not losing a league game this season. It’s just not happening. Winner: Allderdice.
Seton LaSalle at Avonworth, 7:30 p.m. Friday — Seton LaSalle might not be ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, but the Rebels did enter the week with the No. 1 scoring offense and defense in the classification. Their only loss came at New Castle, they beat Class 5A McKeesport on its home floor, and wiped the floor with section rivals Avonworth and North Catholic. Avonworth now gets another shot at the Rebels. This again will not end well for the Antelopes. Winner: Seton LaSalle.
Nazareth Prep at Cornell, 7:30 p.m. Friday — Every time he reads a Cornell box score, The Dribbler thinks of the movie Twins. You know, the one with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. Cornell’s best player is Kaden Divito (different spelling and no relation), who ranks among the WPIAL’s top scorers. Divito scored 27 points when these teams met last month. Nazareth Prep won in two overtimes. Divito and friends will get some payback. Winner: Cornell.
Penn Hills vs. Chester, 6:30 p.m. Sunday — This is part of the big Stand Against Violence Showcase at Woodland Hills that runs Saturday through Monday. Chester has one of the state’s most storied programs and has won eight PIAA titles. No school has won more. Jameer Nelson. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Bo Ryan. Nasir Robinson. All of them were Chester Clippers. But none of them will be able to help them beat a good Penn Hills team. Winner: Penn Hills.
Latrobe at Fox Chapel, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday — Four points. That’s all that separated these teams when Latrobe beat Fox Chapel on Dec. 21. Latrobe hasn’t dropped a game to a WPIAL team this season. The Wildcats found a way to surge past the Foxes in the first meeting despite not having star guard Reed Fenton for a good portion of the game because of foul trouble. Fenton playing for close to 32 minutes would spell big trouble for Fox Chapel. Winner: Latrobe.
Aliquippa at Lincoln Park, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday — First Watergate. Then Spygate. Now Clockgate. Just when it looked like Aliquippa was going to end Lincoln Park’s long section win streak last month, a clock error followed by a foul and two Lincoln Park free throws forced overtime, where the Leopards pounced on the Quips to grab the win. And that was no “home cooking.” The game was at Aliquippa. The Leopards have won 82 consecutive section games. Winner: Lincoln Park.
Girls
Peters Township at North Catholic, 2:30 p.m. Saturday — North Catholic is a big fan of the ‘80s. The Trojanettes scored 88 and 85 points in games last week. Peters Township, though, prefers the ‘90s. The Indians put up 90 last Saturday. With numbers like those, it’s no shock these are the two highest scoring teams in the WPIAL. It’s also no surprise Peters Township is 12-0 and North Catholic is 11-1. Peters Township is just a bit more talented. Winner: Peters Township.
Mars at Gateway, 7:30 p.m. Monday — Mars meet Earth. After starting the season with seven consecutive wins, defending PIAA Class 5A champion Mars has come back down to earth. The Planets are 3-3 in their past six games, one of the losses coming in a game that was offensive for its lack of offense — Armstrong defeated the Planets, 29-28. Mars’ last really good win came a month ago against this same Gateway team. The Planets will do it again. Winner: Mars.