As we welcome our recent late-January “thaw” and observe the continual increasing hours of daylight, the last two months of winter still loom ahead.
But as the calendar turns to February, it doesn’t get ‘dark’ until after 6 p.m. — which is a good thing after darkness has set in so early during December and early January. The same is true on the opposite end, it is getting lighter earlier every morning. That trend will continue until the third week of June — which is still nearly five months away!
The Red Rock Conference basketball title chases continue with post-season tournament action fast approaching.
Hills-Beaver Creek’s girls have been most impressive, as have the boys from Southwest Minnesota Christian.
H-BC’s girls (14-1 overall) are a perfect 10-0 in conference games. Southwest Minnesota Christian (13-3) is second in the league with an 8-2 record, with its only conference losses coming to the Patriots.
Mountain Lake Area / Comfrey (10-4) and Adrian / Ellsworth (11-6) are tied for third place with identical 7-3 conference records. Red Rock Central (8-8) holds down fifth place, followed by Murray County Central (3-10), Westbrook-Walnut Grove (3-9), Heron Lake-Okabena / Fulda (2-15) and Edgerton (0-15) who complete the current standings (as of Monday, January 27) with marks of 3-6, 2-7, 2-8 and 0-10, respectively.
Looking at the boys, the undefeated Eagles of Southwest Christian (16-0) have outscored their opponents by an average spread of 84.1 to 52.8 — a remarkable margin of 31.3 points per game! They are 9-0 in the Red Rock.
Mountain Lake Area / Comfrey is 12-2 overall and 6-1 in conference games. The Wolverines, coming off a state 9-Man football championship, are in second place.
Westbrook-Walnut Grove (9-7) and Heron Lake-Okabena / Fulda (7-10) are tied for third place with 5-3 conference records. The Chargers and Coyotes don’t square off again until February 18 (at Okabena).
Adrian / Ellsworth’s boys (9-7) are fifth with a 4-5 league record, while RRC (4-11) is sixth at 3-4. H-BC (5-8, 3-6) is seventh, followed by Murray County Central (3-13, 2-6) and Edgerton (0-12, 0-9).
All nine teams play 16 conference games, tangling with each of the other eight teams twice.
Seeding for the girls (south sub-section of Section 3A) takes place in two weeks on Wednesday, February 12 with the first games taking place on Thursday, February 20. The four quarterfinal games, known as “Super Saturday” are scheduled for February 22, just a little more than three weeks from now.
The boys seeding will be on Wednesday, February 19 with opening-round action the following Thursday (February 27). This is leap year, so “Super Saturday” will be on the 29th, one day before the beginning of March Madness!
One of the premier professional athletes of the 21st century, NBA basketball legend Kobe Bryant, was killed in a helicopter crash in southern California Sunday morning. Bryant’s tragic death has been the major news topic of the past several days.
Rather than “jumping from ship to ship,” Bryant played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers — a rare accomplishment in today’s highly-paid world of professional sports.
Growing up in suburban Philadelphia, Kobe never played college basketball. He was drafted out of high school in 1996’s first round as the 13th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets, who traded him to the Lakers. Bryant had been a sensational high school player at Lower Merion in Ardmore (a southern suburb of Philadelphia), scoring 2,883 points and leading the Aces to a Pennsylvania state championship in 1996.
His career in the NBA, including his memorable 81-point game in 2006, was highlighted by playing on five championship teams and averaging 25 points per game over 20 seasons — remarkable!
