by Bill Turner
Holiday basketball tournaments dominate the high school scene this week with plenty of action on both the boys and girls sides. Tournaments run Wednesday through Friday.
The K-Guard Holiday Classic at the Salem Civic Center features the boys teams from Salem, Hidden Valley, Cave Spring, William Fleming and Patrick Henry.
The local boys teams at the Northside Invitational held at Northside High School include William Byrd and Northside. Like the K-Guard, the remainder of the 8-team field is made up of out-of-town squads.
On the girls side, the Cave Spring Invitational at Cave Spring High School features Lord Botetourt, Northside, Hidden Valley and Cave Spring in a round-robin format.
The William Fleming Invitational at the Colonel gym includes the girls teams from Fleming, Patrick Henry and Salem.
The Wild Bill “Big-11” Top-5 remained unchanged from last week.
#1- Patrick Henry- The 6-0 Patriots will get a big test in the K-Guard with three games in three nights. PH may be the team to beat with their speed being a huge factor for any opponent.
#2- Salem- The Spartan’s (5-1) only loss came to PH and a rematch in the K-Guard may be in the cards. There are no easy games set for the Salem Civic Center so the best of teams may face 2 losses.
#3- William Fleming- The Colonels edge out Cave Spring for the third spot this week due to their head-to-head win earlier this month. The K-Guard opener against Hidden Valley may tell the tale on the strength of the Colonels.
#4- Cave Spring- The Knights picked up a quality win last week over Radford to improve to 6-2. Cave Spring opens the K-Guard against a tall Broadway team that may pose problems. The Knights play in spurts and when they get on a roll, can score points in bunches.
#5- Hidden Valley- No question, the big sleeper. The Titans open the K-Guard with Fleming. Don’t discount Hidden Valley. Last year they struggled in this tournament and finished second in the state.
Now, to the weekly, and final thank goodness, Sugar Bowl update. Football and ticket sales were quickly replaced in the news last week by intrigue, mystery and handcuffs. No need to discuss this further because little information has been made available. I’m not drawing conclusions and think everyone is innocent until found guilty.
No doubt, though, my good friend Columbo would be asking, “Ahhh, Mr. Beamer, just one more question.”
Prediction: Va Tech- 27 Michigan-18
Finally, I leave you with the Wild Bill after-Christmas gift exhange list. If you received cash from Saint Nick or one of those gifts that is the wrong size or color, here’s a few options to consider that I guarantee will make for an unforgetable memory of Christmas 2011. These are my Top-3. You make the call:
1)The .9999 pure (per the commercial, that’s right, four-9s) gold clad $50 Buffalo coin: Doesn’t it seem strange that a $50 rare collectable gold coin sells for only $19.95 (of course, there is a limit of 5 per order). Seems like the logical thing would be to do multiple orders, buy a thousand for $19,950; then deposit them into a savings account at $50 each for the tidy sum of $50,000. As Steve Martin said in ‘The Jerk’ – “Ah-ha, it’s a profit game!”
2)The ChiaObama: Now I’ve seen it all. I’ve never had a Chia-anything and don’t know the first thing about the growing season of a chia seed. But, this seems to be an unusual way to honor a president even if we’re having a warm winter.
3)The Redem: Supposedly a gadget around since the 1950s. But I’ve been around that long and I’ve never seen one. The purpose? To retrieve a toilet paper roller accidentally dropped in the comode when a new roll of paper is being replaced. Advertised as being a “sanitary necessity.” Hmmm- looks strangely similar to a pair of corn-on-the-cob tongs to me.
That’s probably enough. See you next year.
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