We're through the first week of the winter sports season and it was, typically, exactly what one would expect from the season-opening round of games and matches.
McQueen, Manogue and Douglas lived up to their regional favorite billing in boys' basketball. Reed looked as strong as ever on the girls' side while Reno showed its first small signs of mortality in two years, winning by just (just!) 13 over Carson.
In wrestling, Lowry remained the regional powerhouse it always is while Spanish Springs strode out to take on the early favorite role in the 4A.
As with any season, we'll get a much better picture from week 2, especially with Spanish Springs and McQueen in town for the Carson Valley Classic this week, and many of the top girls' programs in the region at the Spanish Springs Invite this week.
By the end week 3, we should have a pretty good idea of who the top teams are really going to be and then we get to spend the next two-plus months watching everything play out on the court/mats.
What I'm saying is, I'll let you know my predictions after this week.
The Douglas wrestling team stumbled out of the gates last week at the Capital City duals. The team was hit hard by injuries during the offseason, losing Patrick Miller, Austin Martin and Kyle Matthews -- all to ACL injuries -- before things even got off the ground.
The good news is that the team should only give up two weight classes (103 and 275) this year, so participation is up.
Dillon Spates and Zach Falanga are among the regional favorites in their respective classes and there are some solid young wrestlers that will improve as the year goes on.
You can't judge this team by its opening tournament. As the younger athletes get experience under their belts, they'll become more competitive.
I'm planning to be at these games this week, so check online for updates (Cover It Live is the tool we use to post automatic updates during games and also allows for comments and questions from fans during the game, so be sure to check out our Web site if you can't make it to the games I will be posting from.):
Here's where I'll be:
Tuesday: Douglas at North Valleys boys' & girls' basketball (Cover It Live)
Thursday: Douglas boys' basketball vs. Spanish Springs (Cover It Live)
Friday: Douglas boys' basketball vs. Faith Lutheran (Cover It Live)
Saturday: Douglas boys' basketball vs. Fallon (Cover It Live)
- The Douglas boys' basketball team unveiled new uniforms for the first time since the 2006-07 season, sporting the flashy Nike "System of Dress" design employed by Ohio State, Florida, Kansas State, Arizona and the like. Douglas' new duds closely resemble the retro look currently used by Syracuse, with multi-colored blocking down each side of the shorts. It also can't go without mentioning that the uniforms bear a slight resemblance to the uniforms Douglas wore during its 1979 state championship run.
- The Douglas boys' 75-41 win over Reed last week marked the first season-opening win for the team in coach Corey Thacker's four-year tenure.
I've made no small passing mention of my time at TCU in this column over the past couple of years. So, you all know my keen interest in the Horned Frogs somehow finagling a way into the BCS title game.
Obviously, it didn't happen.
However, after watching Auburn dismantle South Carolina last week and Oregon float right past Oregon State, I'm don't have any misgivings about the national title matchup.
Plus, Wisconsin is arguably playing the best football in the country coming into the bowl season and the Rose Bowl is in theory a bigger stage than the national title game in terms of television viewers. So it didn't work out too badly for the Horned Frogs.
Now it's on TCU to step up and make the most of the opportunity. They got their big-name matchup -- they need to prove that they belong in the discussion.
A win and you'll watch TCU rocket right into the elite program status they've been fighting for over the past 10-plus years. A bad loss and they'll be back to square one.
At this point, it really could go either way. But everyone knows where I'm going to be on the afternoon of Jan. 1.
