AZSPORTSNETWORK

Good Morning!

All of us at AZSportsnetwork are very excited!! WE have been working very hard at trying to get a working agreement with the Charter School Association since last year.

So on Saturday, 2-27 we will bring you 4 State Championship Games!

"Live Coverage of the CAA Boys/Girls Class A & B State Basketball Championships!

3:30pm GBB Skyline West vs Tesseract;
5:00pm BBB GEC vs Genesis;
6:30pm GBB EVAC vs Kingman Acad.;
8:15pm BBB EVAC vs Career Success

Here is the Link for the brackets for the charter school playoffs.

www.azsportsnetwork.com will be broadcasting live ALL games
from the Joe S. Padilla baseball tournament. This is one of the
oldest tournaments still being held. Based on internet connection
we will have either video/audio or just audio. No matter what we
will still have video and updates on our site same day and the next
day.

See video from last years Tournament:
http://azsportsnetwork.com/videos/333/hayden-baseball-at-joe-s.-padilla-tournament

Here is the info for the tournament:
All games are at Florence HS

POOL A:
Hayden
Windo Rock
San manuel
Bisbee

POOL B:
Superior
Florence
Coolidge
Empire

Wednesday 2-3-2010:
3:30: San Manuel vs Hayden
5:30: Coolidge vs Empire
7:30: Florence vs Superior

Thursday 2-4-2010:
12:00: Hayden vs Bisbee
1:30: Empire vs Superior
3:30: Bisbee vs Window Rock
5:30: Window Rock vs San Manuel
7:30: Coolidge vs Florence

Friday 2-5-2010:
1:30: Florence vs Empire
3:30: Superior vs Coolidge
5:30: Bisbee vs San Manuel
7:30: Hayden vs Window Rock

Saturday 2-6-2010:
9:00: 3rd Seed A vs 4th Seed B
11:00: 3rd Seed B vs 4th Seed A
1:00: 1st Seed A vs 2nd Seed B
3:00: 1st Seed B vs 2nd Seed A
5:00: Consolation Final
7:00: Championship Final

Hello 2A Fans baseball fever is upon us!!

www.azsportsnetwork.com will be broadcasting live ALL games
from the Joe S. Padilla baseball tournament. This is one of the
oldest tournaments still being held. Based on internet connection
we will have either video/audio or just audio. No matter what we
will still have video and updates on our site same day and the next
day.

See video from last years Tournament:
http://azsportsnetwork.com/videos/333/hayden-baseball-at-joe-s.-padilla-tournament

Here is the info for the tournament:
All games are at Florence HS

POOL A:
Hayden
Windo Rock
San manuel
Bisbee

POOL B:
Superior
Florence
Coolidge
Empire

Wednesday 2-3-2010:
3:30: San Manuel vs Hayden
5:30: Coolidge vs Empire
7:30: Florence vs Superior

Thursday 2-4-2010:
12:00: Hayden vs Bisbee
1:30: Empire vs Superior
3:30: Bisbee vs Window Rock
5:30: Window Rock vs San Manuel
7:30: Coolidge vs Florence

Friday 2-5-2010:
1:30: Florence vs Empire
3:30: Superior vs Coolidge
5:30: Bisbee vs San Manuel
7:30: Hayden vs Window Rock

Saturday 2-6-2010:
9:00: 3rd Seed A vs 4th Seed B
11:00: 3rd Seed B vs 4th Seed A
1:00: 1st Seed A vs 2nd Seed B
3:00: 1st Seed B vs 2nd Seed A
5:00: Consolation Final
7:00: Championship Final

Spring Fever is Abound!

Softball:
Winslow scrimmage launches softball season for Payson HS. If you remember last year that Payson missed the playoffs. This was difficult because the coach had announced to the parents they were in and then a few situations with teams from the North changed and the Longhorns were out. Read the full article at:
http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2010/feb/24/winslow_scrimmage_launches_softball_season/

Track and Field:

Payson:
Maddie Nossek admits she is among the many Payson High School upperclassmen now pondering, “I was just a freshman, I blinked, and I’m a senior.”

As one of the finest athletes to ever come out of Payson HS she is looking forward to an excellent season. read her story at:
http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2010/feb/24/lady_horn_looking_challenge_close_prep_career/

Good morning 2A fans!

As the ever popular Smoke Signals Movie would say, "Its a good day for 2A sports"!

Softball:

Scrimmages:
2-25-2010: Tanque Verde and Tombstone hit the diamond today at Tanque Verde HS @ 4pm.
2-25-2010: Florence @ SCA at 4pm

Baseball:

Scrimmages:
2-25-2010: Tanque Verde and Tombstone hit the diamond today at Tanque Verde HS @ 4pm.
2-25-2010: Florence @ SCA at 4pm

New Coaches:

PRCA:
Former Professional Baseball Player Doug Jones won the state championship and then decided it was a good time to retire and is no longer leading the Lions after only 1 season. The new HC for the Lions is Mark Fritzsen, who has coached at Baboquivari and PRCA in many sports. He is a well respected coach and it is nice to see him get a chance at PRCA. If you remember a loooooooooong time ago he was quite the star athlete at St. David HS. I remember talking with his former Coach Crawford who had nothing but praise for his former player.

Northwest Christian:
There has been a coaching change at NWC. After quite a successful career as coach at NWC, the former Coach and current AD Alan Boelter is no longer coaching baseball. It seems that NWC has now decided to follow in the footsteps of SCA, (Bill Swift) and PRCA, (Doug Jones) and bring in a former professional player in none other than Damion Easley, who had a very successful playing career in the major leagues.

Easley has played for the California Angels, Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the New York Mets.

While with the Tigers, Easley was a 1998 American League All-Star. That year, he batted .271 and set career-highs with 27 home runs and 100 RBI. He also participated in the 1998 Home Run Derby. In 2001, Easley became the ninth Detroit Tiger to hit for the cycle. In 2001, Easley also had a five-hit game and an inside-the-park home run.

On November 16, 2006, Easley signed with the Mets as a free agent.

On August 2, 2007, Easley became the 24th player in Mets' history to hit an inside the park home run (against the Milwaukee Brewers), during a 12-4 victory [1].

On August 18, 2007, Easley suffered a high ankle sprain while advancing to second base on a wild pitch. This injury ended his 2007 baseball season, but he resumed play with the Mets in 2008.

At the end of the 2008 regular season, Easley held the record among active players as the one who had played the most games without reaching the postseason (1,706 games).

Good Morning,

Softball:

Gila Bend:
It seems that Genesis may end up on the mound. They do have a good 9th grade pitcher with some good pedigree. This youngsters name is Allison Montano. If I remember correctly her brother played at Yavapi and some minor league ball as well. Her arm is sore and not sure when she will be taking over the duties.

Gila Bend New Coach:
Their former coach decided before the season started not to coach so the new coach is Katie Welsh. She will take over the reigns after the 4 year starter Diamond graduated. Life after Diamond may prove to be a tough go for a while.

Drug Testing:
If you know me I am pro-drug testing for athletes as long as it is done correctly. I want to mention that the Gila Bend Board approved 5-0 drug testing for their school! This is a huge accomplishment for their AD and Principal Wirtzberger who is making some huge changes at Gila Bend. Although the complete details have not been put out in detail, this is a huge deal and we congratulate the Gila bend Board for thinking of students and doing what is right.

Scrimmages:
2-25-2010: Tanque Verde and Tombstone hit the diamond today at Tanque Verde HS @ 4pm.
2-26-2010: Ajo at Patagonia at 4pm

Baseball:

Scrimmages:
2-25-2010: Tanque Verde and Tombstone hit the diamond today at Tanque Verde HS @ 4pm.
2-26-2010: Ajo at Patagonia at 4pm

JV Programs:
Tanque Verde is excited that for the first year they will have a complete JV squad for the baseball season. This is good numbers for a 1A school for sure.

Patagonia:
The new head coach is Ross Spencer who was also their HC for baseball.

Football:
Gila Bend:
Board approved of a new football coach for the upcoming 2010 football season.
The new coach is: Andrew Iasci (Pronounced Yosh) From what I know he is currently a teacher at GB.

Good Morning!

All of us at AZSportsnetwork are very excited!! WE have been working very hard at trying to get a working agreement with the Charter School Association since last year.

WE just found out yesterday that AZSportsnetwork will be broadcasting LIVE the Charter School Basketball State Championships this coming Saturday from South Mountain CC! This will include the GBB/BBB and includes both classifications. So on Saturday we will bring you 4 State Championship Games!

Since the AIA does not allow us to cover the State Championships with Video, this is an opportunity for us to team up with another organization and help bring the Charter School fans some much needed publicity.

Here is the Link for the brackets for the charter school playoffs. They are entering the semi-finals this week with the championships to be played this Saturday!

Games start at: 3:30, 5:00, 6:30 and 8:15pm

http://azcaa.com/

Good Morning!

All of us at AZSportsnetwork are very excited!! WE have been working very hard at trying to get a working agreement with the Charter School Association since last year.

WE just found out yesterday that AZSportsnetwork will be broadcasting LIVE the Charter School Basketball State Championships this coming Saturday from South Mountain CC! This will include the GBB/BBB and includes both classifications. So on Saturday we will bring you 4 State Championship Games!

Since the AIA does not allow us to cover the State Championships with Video, this is an opportunity for us to team up with another organization and help bring the Charter School fans some much needed publicity.

Here is the Link for the brackets for the charter school playoffs. They are entering the semi-finals this week with the championships to be played this Saturday!

Games start at: 3:30, 5:00, 6:30 and 8:15pm

http://azcaa.com/

Good Morning!

All of us at AZSportsnetwork are very excited!! WE have been working very hard at trying to get a working agreement with the Charter School Association since last year.

WE just found out yesterday that AZSportsnetwork will be broadcasting LIVE the Charter School Basketball State Championships this coming Saturday from South Mountain CC! This will include the GBB/BBB and includes both classifications. So on Saturday we will bring you 4 State Championship Games!

Since the AIA does not allow us to cover the State Championships with Video, this is an opportunity for us to team up with another organization and help bring the Charter School fans some much needed publicity.

Here is the Link for the brackets for the charter school playoffs. They are entering the semi-finals this week with the championships to be played this Saturday!

Games start at: 3:30, 5:00, 6:30 and 8:15pm

http://azcaa.com/

Hello fans!

Wow I hope you caught our show last night. We went thru and dissected our rankings and compared them to teams who moved on at each classification and I would like to say it really proves that we put a lot of effort into our rankings in order to evaluate teams. We have decided that next year in 2A we will be doing a top 20 since 24 teams make the playoffs. We already do top 15 and about 4-5 looking in so that will not be a problem.

Basketball:

We are now taking nominations for our All-State teams. WE have a 3A 1st and 2nd team in GBB/BBB. However this year we are also going to have our All-State Phenom Freshman Team. If you want to nominate a player you can email it to me with stats etc. We are also setting up a place for you to submit these names. 9th grade players will be put on the Phenom team instead of the regular All-State team.

The Freshman Phenom team must be a 9th grade player who started for a majority of the season. If he/she was not a starter but came off of the bench that would not qualify.

Some Interesting Tidbits

BBB:
In the boys final 4 we had 4 public schools and 1 representative from each division. WEST: EFH, EAST: Round Valley, NORTH: Winslow and SOUTH: Safford. If you look at these 4 teams, many feel it is just a formality since EFH is gonna dominate these next 2 games.

If Winslow loses it will have been 1991 since no North team was in a championship game. Not only is this huge but much money will be lost based on the North fan attendance.

GBB:

On the girls side we have 2 teams from the North, 1 from the East and 1 from the South. There is no doubt that the way to the 3A Championship most years is thru the North and if there is to be a Final without a North Final, both Snowflake and Safford must accomplish the unbelievable. It would be one thing if 1 team got in by beating a North team but 2 will just be amazing!

Both Safford and Snowflake have had far easier brackets. It will be interesting to see if this is good or bad come this week.

If Winslow and Window Rock meet in the final it will be the 4th time they have played this season with Winslow holding a 2-1 lead after defeating WRock for the regional championships.

Charter School State Championships:

AZSportsnetwork is trying to work it out where we would be web-casting the semi-finals and finals of the GBB/BBB Charter League State Championships taking place this weekend. Please stay tuned.

Hello fans!

Wow I hope you caught our show last night. We went thru and dissected our rankings and compared them to teams who moved on at each classification and I would like to say it really proves that we put a lot of effort into our rankings in order to evaluate teams. We have decided that next year in 2A we will be doing a top 20 since 24 teams make the playoffs. We already do top 15 and about 4-5 looking in so that will not be a problem.

Basketball:

We are now taking nominations for our All-State teams. WE have a 2A 1st and 2nd team in GBB/BBB. However this year we are also going to have our All-State Phenom Freshman Team. If you want to nominate a player you can email it to me with stats etc. We are also setting up a place for you to submit these names. 9th grade players will be put on the Phenom team instead of the regular All-State team.

The Freshman Phenom team must be a 9th grade player who started for a majority of the season. If he/she was not a starter but came off of the bench that would not qualify.

Some Interesting Tidbits

BBB:
In the boys final 4 we had 2 privates vs 2 charter schools. SCA and NWC and WWP and Precision. If you look at these 4 teams a majority of these players do not play football and Precision does not have a team. Many of these players are athletes who only play 1 sport as well so that basketball can be their main dedication.

The new 24 team format has now pitted the 2 privates vs one another and the 2 charters. More than private vs charter is that the finalist are all metro teams.

GBB:

On the girls side we have 3 private schools and the lone public school is none other than Pima who is playing their 1st year in 2A. Interesting note is that Pima, like Salt River petitioned to stay in 1A but were rejected. If Pima would have stayed in 1A that would have made all sports much tougher. By the way do not debate whether Pima would have won the 1A championship because SR beat them earlier in the season.

The big debate before the new 24 team format was that in the past they had the super regionals which matched all of the privates and many charters in one tournament and guaranteed the public schools one team in the finals. That was the POLITICALLY CORRECT BUT INCORRECT way on handling the private vs public debate rather than using a multiplier like many states or the format we have now.

If Pima and VC meet then this pits 2 teams who have yet to meet and could be a game with much anticipation. However, no matter who meets in the finals it will be VC vs the rest of the world as they try and claim the ultimate prize of a state championship that has eluded them since PRCA has been dominating the championships for some time.

The goal should always be to be fair and get the top teams to meet in the championships barring any upsets.

Charter School State Championships:

AZSportsnetwork is trying to work it out where we would be web-casting the semi-finals and finals of the GBB/BBB Charter League State Championships taking place this weekend. Please stay tuned.

Hello sports fans!

Wow I hope you caught our show last night. We went thru and dissected our rankings and compared them to teams who moved on at each classification and I would like to say it really proves that we put a lot of effort into our rankings in order to evaluate teams. We have decided that next year in 2A we will be doing a top 20 since 24 teams make the playoffs. We already do top 15 and about 4-5 looking in so that will not be a problem.

Basketball:

We are now taking nominations for our All-State teams. WE have a 1A 1st and 2nd team in GBB/BBB. However this year we are also going to have our All-State Phenom Freshman Team. If you want to nominate a player you can email it to me with stats etc. We are also setting up a place for you to submit these names. 9th grade players will be put on the Phenom team instead of the regular All-State team.

The Freshman Phenom team must be a 9th grade player who started for a majority of the season. If he/she was not a starter but came off of the bench that would not qualify.

Some Interesting Tidbits

BBB:
In the boys final 4 we had 3 privates vs 1 Public school. VL, GC and St. Mikes and then Joe City. All of the final 4 teams in the boys division were above 100 enrollment with GC at 121 based on the 2 year block per the AIA. I do feel that the enrollment numbers are very important as with more numbers come more players for a team. I think the private is interesting only because you typically get more quality with the quantity.

Out of the 4 finalist only VL and JC played football. St. Mikes use to field a team but have not done so for some years. In the past 4 years we have had St. Gregs and GC win basketball titles. Neither of these teams field a football team. This may give the players more time to play basketball but I know some players participate in soccer as well.

Both teams that played for the championship were private schools.

GBB:

On the girls side we had all public schools but if I am correct Ft. Thomas has a boarding school and SR is actually a charter school, but that is still considered public.

Salt River became the first team this year to win a state championship after petitioning down to stay in 1A with an enrollment of 238. Traditionally the cut-off point has been about 200 plus or minus.

On the girls side we had more under 100 enrollment teams make the playoffs than the boys side:

Grand Canyon: 92
Patagonia: 91
Seligman: 70
Greenfields: 58

Transfers:
On the girls side both teams in the state championship were able to benefit by players transferring to their schools. I have no idea about other teams or the boys side.

Both teams that played for the championship were public schools.

Charter School State Championships:

AZSportsnetwork is trying to work it out where we would be web-casting the semi-finals and finals of the GBB/BBB Charter League State Championships taking place this weekend. Please stay tuned.

Hello 3A fans!

Baseball and softball as well as other spring sports are underway. We will have our Monday Night ranking baseball and softball show next Monday. Tonight we will continue to focus on the basketball season at hand.

I am covering the basketball on my state coverage blog notes so please go there to catch all of our thoughts on the 3A state basketball tournament.

http://www.azsportsnetwork.com/azsportsnetworkblog/index.php?blog=25

Then go to the 3A boys and girls sections.

Hello 2A fans!

Baseball and softball as well as other spring sports are underway. We will have our Monday Night ranking baseball and softball show next Monday. Tonight we will continue to focus on the basketball season at hand.

I am covering the basketball on my state coverage blog notes so please go there to catch all of our thoughts on the 2A state basketball tournament.

http://www.azsportsnetwork.com/azsportsnetworkblog/index.php?blog=25

Then go to the 2A boys and girls sections.

Good morning!

What a great weekend as we crowned our 2010 basketball state champions.

Boys Basketball:

Gilbert Christian:

Formerly known as Surrey Garden, this team did something most teams only think about and that is to go though the entire season undefeated! Not only did they do this but they did so in dominating fashion! No team came close and in all reality the only team that had a chance was St. Gregs with a healthy Frank. That was the only game we felt they were held in check and the game was real good for their opponent but without Frank it was not to be. In the playoffs ormer stayed with them a bit but in the end they dominated and will be a force in the future. based on info they are building some great facilities and will more than likely be playing at the 2A level come the next 2 year block. This will allow for much more competition.

North Teams:

Both St. Mikes and Joe City had fine seasons. WE were proud to have picked them for teams who would threaten for the titles and they did not disappoint. Both of these teams had great seasons and provided their fans with some great basketball thru the season.

Valley Lutheran:

This team has been something special. I know they could not get into our top 2 rankings for the season but it was only because 1A this season was stacked at the top. They proved us wrong and got the runner-up positions. All I can say watch out for this team in baseball!!!!

Coach of the Year:

The coach of the year is very difficult this season. If you have any nominations please send them in. For once I will say I am not sure of this award and our committee members each have different names and I can honestly say I am undecided at this time.

Girls Basketball:

Salt River:

The Eagles had the toughest schedule of almost all divisions this season. This I am sure this helped them so that they were ready for the rematch vs Gila Bend in the championship game. They proved this year with their schedule that they can compete in higher divisions and I for one would love to see them move up to 2A where they have the numbers for that division and compete against the 2A schools whom they beat on a regular basis. This team was special as Newton and Ramirez were 2 of the top combos in girls basketball at any level. Congratulations and we know this team will be competitive in years to come.

Gila Bend:

Sometimes the basketball gods are cruel and then sometimes they can bless you when you least expect it. This season ones schools loss, (YC) was Gila Bends blessing! Although the Gila Monsters got the Wirtzbergers sisters in as transfers, (SR fell under the same luck star by the way, many I think forget that this program was in the making when Coach Dallas 1st took over many years ago. he came in to a depleted program and brought success that the team has rarely seen in their history of girls basketball. His teams were competitive and his leadership as a coach was evident with all of his teams. This year it took a coach with some greay ability to gel and mold his team into a state contender and to do so making sure that the conflicts that can tear a team apart did not occur and allowed them to take the runner-up trophy this season.

X-Factor:

I had mentioned that when the match-up between SR and GB took place for the final time it would come down to the X-Factor. My X-factor was a player besides the top 2 from each team that would have a great game and be the difference. In the championship game the X-Factor was Hannah from SR who came out and did a tremendous job and in the end was the difference in the game!

Coach of the Year:

I know those teams that get people into the playoffs and win championships are traditionally given this award, but IMO the coach that will probably NOT win this award but should is the Patagonia Coach who led his team to the playoffs, almost had a 20 win season and did all of this while having 2-3 wins the following season.

Baseball:

WE will have our baseball and softball rankings show next Monday! That should also be the time our pre-season rankings will be revealed.

Softball:

WE will have our baseball and softball rankings show next Monday! That should also be the time our pre-season rankings will be revealed.

Good Morning 3A fans!

What an exciting evening for girls basketball Tuesday night. As we saw the brackets will pretty much play out like we all thought they would.

Tuba City:

They did a great job and gave MV all they could handle. WE had mentioned that if Roe from TC did not play they would have a tough game vs MV. But instead the tough Roe did play after having had a dislocated shoulder at regionals and TC gave MV all they could handle. They did lose but the game was a low scoring affair that really helped the banged up Warriors a chance to pull off the upset. It also shows that MV may be struggling a bit at the end of the regular season and now heading into the playoffs.

Alchesay:

This team has been up and down all season. But with a good bracket they beat Wick 71-49 but now will face Window Rock in the 2nd round.

Empire:

They lost to Coolidge last night but this team has grown by leaps and bounds this season and although they lost in the first round this team made a huge step to get to the playoffs. Great job by the Lady Ravens!

Coolidge:

I strongly feel the Coolidge run will run dry vs Snowflake. Coolidge has had a great season but I do not see them having the fire power to stay with a very good Snowflake team. Maybe playing at home can give them the edge.

Brackets:

When Monument Valley and Winslow play in the 2nd round this shows the problem we have with the power point system being used without a seeding committee. This is almost a championship game being played at the 2nd round instead of later on.

Hello fans!

Last night we saw some really good games. We did our Danger Zone Talk Show from Benson, AZ where we gave you updates not only from the games being played at that site but also across the state of AZ.

Willcox vs Pima:

Wow what an exciting game! This game went down to the wire as every basket throughout the game was a new lead for the team who scored. These teams had met earlier in the year 2x where they split those games. Willcox won the game 48-46 and will move on to play Thatcher on Friday.

Desert Christian vs Horizon Honors

DC got behind 20-4 in the 1st period and it looked like the route was on but DC fough back and by the half was only down by 5 points. They would later take the lead and eventually win the game 48-46 to move on and play SanCarlos Friday night.

Oddity:

Both games played at Benson ended with 48-46 scores! Now I did not see a full moon last night but that is kind of strange as you will hardly ever see something like that at the same gym.

Many Farms:

Ahhhhhh my sleeper pick from the 2A division all season had some injuries and had fallen dramatically not only in our rankings but also in the power point seeding as well. before it was all said and done Many Farms took the last playoff spot and had to play #9 Phoenix Country Day School. Even though they had to travel all the way to Scottsdale for the game, PCDS was able to see why we were so high on this team when they are healthy. Many Farms took control of the game and defeated PCDS 71-55 and will play Benson, the hottest team around at this point in the season. It seems they may be healthy at Many Farms and that is not good news for teams standing in their way!

Williams:

There had been a lot of debate the last 2 weeks on our message boards where many fans from Williams really had questioned us as to why we would not rank them in the top 5 like Obert and a few other ranking sites. However, we stood our ground and they moved up into the top 10 but then lost to GreyHills and dropped to the top 15 to end the regular season. I then mentioned on our show on Monday that Canyon State was playing some good ball and would win that game. Well as fate would show last night CSA defeated Willaims in OT 68-63. This is nothing we are proud to announce but what we had been saying about the strength of schedule certainly came true as CSA, a #21 seed was playing a 12 seed in Williams and now moves on to play Northwest Christian.

Sites:

In this first round it was interesting as to how they chose the sites for these games. Some teams had to travel very far while others had home games. I am wondering what the criteria was for playing these games at certain sites as it seems traveling was not an issue. I am thinking it was availability of gyms. I am not complaining but in the end maybe it would have been better to just have the high seed as the home site like 3A. Just a thought.

Hello 3A fans!!!

Wow where do I even start!! This has been a whirlwind weekend as we were able to see some of the best fans across the state of AZ in The Wildcat Den in Wildcat Country this past weekend! It was absolutely amazing!

If you have heard about the fans waiting hours and hours before a game for tickets you can now see this live in video as we were able to do a pre-game show on top of the Wildcat Den and bring you all of the sites of the top fans bar none up North! Here is the link that you can watch our pre-game show with all of the fans lining up!

http://azsportsnetwork.com/videos/340/azsports-pre-game-show:-3a-north-fans

WE have posted some parts of the game that we received from fans across the USA so here are some videos of this weekends action and we hope you enjoy! WE want to thank all of the fans for listening in to our broadcast and making it the top show with 6,000 viewers on Friday and we averaged near 2,000+ the other 2 days at the Den! That is amazing!

Go to this link and see all the footage of the North Regionals:
http://azsportsnetwork.com/category/3a-north-basketball-regionals

Now on to other other pressing matters:

Playoffs Recap:

Estrella vs SPointe:

Well they lit up the scoreboard with 11, yes, 111 vs South Pointe who was able to get into the playoffs with some great play in the west regionals. getting there was great but they had to face the EFH team who has been virtually unbeatable all season. I know many asked me about my viewpoint concerning the high point totals for EFH but to me if this was the regular season then maybe I would question the sportsmanship but when you get to the playoffs all bets are off and a coach does whatever he feels best doing to make sure his team stays focused and stays sharp! The playoffs are not for the weak of heart who want to have good feelings after a game. if a team like SP wants to get in and play with the best then they have to be willing to understand that along with playing with the best you must be able to know you may get beat and get beat badly as they were Monday evening. if you want to play with the big dogs then you better be able to be okay when the bigger, faster and meaner dog puts it on you and doesn't allow you even close to the BONE you are trying to get.

Here is some footage on EFH:
http://azsportsnetwork.com/category/bbb-wwp-vs-efh-1-15-2010

Chinle vs Parker:

Lets just say after the loss to Winslow I would have hated to be Parker! All Winslow did was awaken the GIANT(s) from Chinle and now they are ticked off and I believe in the end we may see that the loss, although we all hate, may have shown Chinle that they cannot take leads lightly and now they will not slow down in any part of the game and annihilate their opponents. From the top 5 to the others on the bench Chinle really never allowed Parker to be in the game. If you know the history of Parker you will know that back in the days of Vegas David who played at Tennessee that they have a great history of basketball but with numbers very low they barely qualify for the 3A classification and have not been as good as in past years. But no matter how the game was lost they have some very young talent so keep an eye on this team in the future. As for Chinle they now get to avenge a loss to Round Valley who beat them in the finals of the RV Tournament.

Here is some footage on Chinle:

http://azsportsnetwork.com/videos/339/bbb-winslow-vs-chinle-2010-3a-north-regional

Sedona vs Holbrook:

Wow what a game! It seemed at first that the Roadrunners had their Dynamite on their back and were gonna run away with this game early but the Sedona team had something else planned as they were able to fight their way back and keep it close until the very end. Once again Holbrook showed why they were in our top 5 most of the season! With a team that can play inside or out and run with any team in the state they can be a threat to win it all and will give EFH all they can handle if they are able to handle the crowd. One major thing is they need to have their senior Stingley get out and have a great game. They are much better than a 9 seed and should be able to give a good performance against EFHs.

Florence vs Window Rock:

Did we tell you this was not a normal WRock #12 seed! After watching this team play at regionals we had a feeling a good Florence team might be in trouble. We also predicted that once the treys started to fall the game last night was bound to be close in the end. With Ashley, Perkins and Mansen doing it all year the X-factor Taliman showed us something at regionals and he came thru for the Scouts! Florence was led by Washington with points.

Here is some video on Window Rock:
http://azsportsnetwork.com/videos/342/tuba-city-vs-windowrock

Winslow vs Santa Cruz:

I was worried about a letdown for Winslow based on their emotional victory against Chinle but that was not the case as they came out with "snorting fire out of their noses" and are playing some great ball right now! Santa Cruz was on the brink this year of playing with the best but there is a huge difference between the South and even the lower North teams and it showed with them playing one of the top teams in the North who we had at #3 to end the regular season rankings. Winslow with both Shirleys has a great chance to go all of the way but they must first get by WRock and a very good EFH team.

Here is some footage on Winslow:
http://azsportsnetwork.com/videos/339/bbb-winslow-vs-chinle-2010-3a-north-regional

Round Valley vs Fountain Hills:

This was a very evenly matched game as Ft. Hills was better than an 311 seed and RV is somewhere near a #6 seed so this was a great match going in. This game went into overtime which was a huge accomplishment by the team from Fountain Hills since it is hard to win in the Dome. Now RV must go to Chinle who they beat at the Dome in the RV tournament for the championship. Although Chinle did beat them this will not be a game that Chinle will overlook.

I will post more later today!

Hello 1A fans!

WE would like to congratulate Joe City for winning the team wrestling title in the 1-2A division. Wrestling is an awesome event and it takes quite an athlete to compete. It is not for the weak-minded for sure.

It is now time to discuss the 1A basketball tournament and I will have a lot of I told you so comments today.

Lets get started:

A quick note: In both the boys and girls brackets 3 #1 seeds have made it to the finals along with a #2 seed. That is pretty incredible but shows how good the top teams have been in each regional area.

Boys basketball:

North teams:

Many of you may be thinking, "Where in the heck did those North teams come from?!" Well I have been telling you about Joe City and St. Mikes all year. Many people have been getting on the St. Mike bandwagon in some polls after we started following them but nobody even had 2nd thoughts on the Joe City team we saw early in the season vs Many farms at the Coke Classic Tourney we covered in Chinle. Both of these teams have earned this final 4 all season long. In the regular season they split their games and Joe City won the 3rd game for the championship game at regionals.

Joe City:

It is amazing to me how people could have missed out on the Joe City team though. I mean they dominated the championships in football and Baldwin the RB has been as impressive on the basketball court. Joe City and valley Union met in the quarterfinals and it was a very good battle. WE had VU in the top 3 all season and I believe they were that good of a team. But JC was able to win the game 32-31 and get the semi-final bid. No matter what people think about how good Gilbert Christian is, JC will give them all they can handle. This is a team that played a slow game vs VU and showed they can win. But the big difference is that against GC and their pressing and running style will not impress or hurt JC because they play up North against some of the top pressing and running teams like Many Farms and others. In a sense they have been training for just this type of game. I saw them lose a high scoring game in OT vs a very good Many Farms team when they were healthy and a close battle vs MV in the same tournament. This team is for real and if GC overlooks them they will be thinking, 'What if" after the game.

Duncan:

On our preview talk show I stated that people better not overlook Duncan and they beat a very tough Mogollon team in the first round. That was not a surprise to us as we knew from day 1 they would be a playoff team and were a sleeper pick for us. If not for running into a very talented VL team they would still be playing.

St. David:

Now please do not take this the wrong way but they fell into this 4 seed and it was a very unusual situation at that as the ADs met the last week and switched up some situations concerning the PPTS the South was using and they leapfrogged over 2 teams to get the final spot from the South. It was my feeling the St. Augustine team deserved the spot and I think by what happened to ST. David vs VL that the fact they were beneath 2 teams before the switch proved to be correct. WE are happy they had the opportunity to get the 4th playoff spot but another team deserved it as well.

St. Gregory:

AS all of you know by now Frank, their All-state PG, was out for the state tournament. I knew this the day of the GC game but kept it on the low until playoff time. The team is not the same without him and the other teams were handed a gift as he went down hard vs St. David the night before vs St. David and hurt his hip and pulled a muscle in that same area that would keep him out of the state playoffs. After watching the game vs GC I believe with Frank they were the better team. But of course that is hindsight now isn't it. One thing I will say and I find this to be very evident in films and games I have covered where St. Gregs has played and that is IMO the refs allow teams to really bang on this kid and get away with far to many fouls. The kid can sky and is very athletic and gets up in the air like no other at that level. Because of this he is sometimes in vulnerable positions and he needs protected by the refs. Not as a favor but as a point of fact that it is their job to protect players and not allow other teams to beat up on a kid like I have seen done to Frank. As a senior to be I hope that the refs stop this behavior and make teams accountable. Just because a kid is very talented does not give teams the right to play so physical that it puts a kid at risk! I was very much looking forward to the Frank vs Silversmith from St. Mikes match-up and feel sad we were not able to see it this year.

St. Mikes:

This team is very talented and early on we saw they had the ability to win the North and compete for the title. Many coaches would ask me what I thought about the North and I always stated that St. Mikes was the real deal. Now we will see a great match-up vs Valley Lutheran.

St. Mikes Silversmith:

Let me introduce you to Kurtis Silversmith from St. Mikes. He averages 24.1 points per game, 6.4 assists and is a returning All-state player that many have never heard of before. He is definitely the real deal and VL will need to control him to try and beat this team. The bad thing is that he is not their only player. Add in Sam Hardy who averages 17.9 points a game and Tywray with 10.3 and you have a team that can run or play the slow style game. One thing is for sure that Silversmith will need to carry his team on his shoulders if they want to defeat a very talented VL team.

Valley Lutheran:

This years VL team is very talented. They can get it done in so many ways and they actually played GC quite well after losing by 16 in the end. But when asked the GC coach told me VL is very talented. The only thing that kept them from being #2 was St. Gregs with Frank and a very talented VU team. They are led by Sam Voas who can take over a game by himself and add to it the big man Hraunar Gudmundsson and you have a lethal 1-2 punch. Oh but that is not all they have as Kosberg and Gabrielson can hurt you as well. Are you kind of getting why this team is so dangerous?? The depth of this team is outstanding and on any given night any or all of them can hurt you big time. This team is scary good and St. Mikes will have their hands full to get past them to the championship game. This should be a nice game to watch as there should be many lead changes when it is all said and done.

Gilbert Christian:

If you go to our website you can see the game they played vs St. Gregs. besides the games at the end of the season vs St. Gregs and VL they have not been tested all season. Their plans are to move up to 2A and maybe 3A as they are building some nice sports facilities. They have the speed and size to win it all. With the Coaches son Currior leading the way he poses huge mis-matches for his defenders as they look to isolate him vs man-to-man and use his height to drive and score at will. The guards are very quick led by Polancio who can take over a game by himself as we saw vs St. Gregs. They also have their big man inside at about 6' 7 or so who is only a soph and can play as physical as they come at the 1A level. They like to run and press and the transition that teams must prevent is very fast.

Girls Basketball:

Dark-horse Seligman:

WE have been stating from a while back that Seligman had a chance to win regionals as well contend for a state title. Remember a dark-horse is not a sleeper where not many teams may or may not produce. A dark horse to me is a team that from the beginning has a lot of talent but is basically going unknown and can come in and show teams they are the real deal. Seligman likes to run and we will see if they can stay with Salt River who can run with the best in the state.

St. Mikes vs Ft. Thomas:

This is another game for setting up a committee to decide the brackets. Both of these teams had the talent to be in the semi-finals. It seemed St. Mikes was gonna win but many felt they kind of lets things get away from them late and Ft. Thomas was able to squeak out the victory.

Gila Bend:

The saying goes that it is better to be lucky than good in order to win a state championship. I feel that one of the teams that had a chance to beat GB was St. Mikes because of their depth. But with them now out they will face a team without all the depth but just as dangerous. This game comes down to the speed of GB and the size and power of Ft. Thomas. Ft. Thomas showed at regionals where they almost defeated SR that they were a state contender. They were in our top 3 for most of the year and rightly so. GB must play their game which is run and great defense. GB has had the toughest side of the bracket and if they move on to the finals they could be wore out because of the battle between them and the Fort.

Salt River:

After a 1st round nerves game it seems now the only team that can keep them from the finals is themselves. Seligman must decide to run with them or slow it down. SR is led my Ramirez and Newton. But do not doubt for a second who runs this team as Newton from day 1 is the leader and if you do not contain and shut her down you have no chance. Yes Ramirez can light you up but if you shut Newton down she cannot touch the ball. The key here is who is the X-factor or player who will step it up if one of these girls are not having a good game or being shut down? If it ends up being a GB vs SR match we have seen from previous games that the stars are gonna get the points and somebody from both teams will have to step up to be the difference maker.

Patagonia:

I want to give a big shout to the Lobos. What a turnaround season! Coach led his team from 2-3 wins to almost 20 this season and a state birth. That is awesome and they are my team of the year and I think coach should without a doubt should be in contention for Coach of the Year for 1A.

Ft. Thomas:

With an early loss to SR and a late loss to Duncan many were thinking Ft. Thomas would not be able to reach the semi-final or the finals. However, with their game vs SR the last time they played they showed us all they have the Right Stuff to be state champion. Although their former coach is gone Haws has done a great job getting this team prepared. They are physical and play smart ball. They will give GB all they can handle but if they do not contain the speed of GB it will be over early.

We will be doing our previews for these games tomorrow.

Coach P Az HS Prep Rankings for Week 12, Feb 8th, 2010

Week 12:

GIRLS BASKETBALL

1A

1. Salt River:
Won the East in a very close game vs Ft. Thomas.
1st RD:vs GrandCanyon

1. Gila Bend:
#1 South Seed
1st RD: vs Bagdad

3. Ft. Thomas
Lost a great game vs SaltRiver in East championship game
and have joined SR and GB in the mix to win state.
1st Round: vs St. Michaels

4. Salome:
Beat VL by 17 in West Championship
1st RD: vs Greenfields

5. Seligman:
Beat RockPoint to win the North Championship.
My darkhorse from the beginning and they have continued to impress.
A legit threat for the title.
1st RD: vs Duncan

6. Rock Point:
Lost a heartbreaker vs Seligman to gain #2 seed from the North
1st RD:vs Gilbert Christian

7. Valley Lutheran
Lost by 17 vs Salome in West Championship game.
1st RD: vs St. David

8. St. Michaels:
Loss in Regionals does nothing to take away from a dangerous team but
face a very tough Ft. Thomas team.
1st RD: vs St. Michaels

9. Patagonia:
#2 seed from South and the Darlings of the tournament after only
winning a few games last year.
1st Round: vs Joy Christian

10. Joe City:
Upset in North Regionals vs Grand Canyon and will sit home.

10. St. David:
Playing good ball as of late.
1st RD: vs Valley Lutheran

12. Joy Christian:
Lost in West but did take Salome to OT this season.
1st RD: vs Patagonia

13. Grand Canyon
Tough match vs SR in first round. Great game vs JC to get to state.
1st RD: vs SaltRiver

14. Gilbert Christian:
Playing without top player trying to defend state title.
1st RD: vs Rock Point

15. Duncan:
Defeated Ft. Thomas this year so can be dangerous team.
1st. RD: vs Seligman

Looking In: Bagdad, Greenfields

GIRLS BASKETBALL

2A

1. Valley Christian:
Beat PC

2. PC:
Lost to VC

3. Pima
Beat Thatcher

4. ALA

5. SCA

6. San Carlos:
Big game with PRCA this week.

7. Thatcher

8. Many Farms

9. GreyHills

10. Camp Verde
10. PRCA

12. Benson
13. DC
14. Horizons
15. Williams:


Looking In: Bourgade, NPP, Tombstone
Tonopah,

GIRLS BASKETBALL

3A

1. Window Rock:
L to Tuba City

2. Winslow

3. Monument Valley

4. Safford
If not for injury to Hancock I would
have moved them to #1.

5. Tuba City
AZSports Team of the week with wins vs
Window Rock and Monument Valley

6. Snowflake

7. Chinle

8. Alchesay

9. Holbrook

10. Round Valley

Next:

11. Ganado

12. Coolidge

13. Sedona

14. Estrella

15. Wickenburg

BOYS BASKETBALL

1A

1. Gilbert Christian

2. Valley Union

3. Valley Lutheran

4. Joe City

5. St. Mikes

6. St. Gregory

7. Orme

8. Duncan

9. Mogollon

10. Mayer

Next:

11. Ft. Thomas

12. Tanque Verde

13. St. David

14. Veritas

15. St. Augustine:
Good team who will miss playoffs because of no regionals in the south.

BOYS BASKETBALL

2A

1. SCA

2. WWP

3. San Carlos

4. NWC

5. Thatcher

6. Willcox

7. Benson

8. VC

9. PRCA

9. Precision

10. GreyHills

NEXT

11. Horizon Honors

12. DC

13. Williams

14. Many Farms

15. PC

Looking Inhoenix Country Day, BC, St. Johns

BOYS BASKETBALL

3A

1. EFH

2. Chinle

3. Winslow

4. Blue Ridge

5. Round Valley

6. Hollbrook

7. Safford

8. FlorenceFt. Hills

9. Alchesay

10. Ft. Hills
10. Window Rock

NEXT:

12. Sedona

13. Santa Cruz

14. Payson

15. Empire/Show Low

Good morning 2A fans!

Did you check out the VC vs PC video we put up on our site??!! If you did you need to check that game out. We will be uploading the other parts over the weekend but the part 1 should get your juices flowing and wanting more. I still believe this game should not have been played but I will say I loved every second of the game.

Hello 3A fans!

The North Regionals are just around the corner and begin Tuesday the 9th of this week! We are very excited because AZSportsnetwork will be covering the entire tournament live from Chinle, AZ.

Hello 1A sports fans!

Here are the 1A State Girls Basketball brackets:

Upper Bracket
W#1 Salome vs
S#4 Green Fields

E#2 Ft. Thomas vs
N#3 St. Michaels

S#1 Gila Bend vs
W#4 Bagdad

N#2 Rock Point vs
E#3 Gilbert Christian

Lower Bracket
N#1 Seligman vs
E#4 Duncan

S#2 Patagonia vs
W#3 Joy Christian

E#1 Salt River vs
N#4 Grand Canyon

W#2 Valley Lutheran vs
S#3 St. David

1A Boys State Tournament Bracket

1st RD -Friday 2-12-10; Time TBD

Upper Bracket
W#1 Valley Lutheran vs
S#4 St. David

E#2 Duncan vs
N#3 Mogollon

S#1 St. Gregory's vs
W#4 Joy Christian

N#2 St. Michaels vs
E#3 Fort Thomas

Lower Bracket
N#1 Joseph City vs
E#4 Veritas

S#2 Valley Union vs
W#3 Mayer

E#1 Gilbert Christian vs
N#4 Rock Point

W#2 Orme School vs
S#3 Tanque Verde

GIRLS BASKETBALL:
Here are my thoughts on the final week 12 rankings as teams
enter into the playoffs:

1A

1. Salt River:
Won the East in a very close game vs Ft. Thomas.
1st RD:vs GrandCanyon

1. Gila Bend:
#1 South Seed
1st RD: vs Bagdad

3. Ft. Thomas
Lost a great game vs SaltRiver in East championship game
and have joined SR and GB in the mix to win state.
1st Round: vs St. Michaels

4. Salome:
Beat VL by 17 in West Championship
1st RD: vs Greenfields

5. Seligman:
Beat RockPoint to win the North Championship.
My darkhorse from the beginning and they have continued to impress.
A legit threat for the title.
1st RD: vs Duncan

6. Rock Point:
Lost a heartbreaker vs Seligman to gain #2 seed from the North
1st RD:vs Gilbert Christian

7. Valley Lutheran
Lost by 17 vs Salome in West Championship game.
1st RD: vs St. David

8. St. Michaels:
Loss in Regionals does nothing to take away from a dangerous team but
face a very tough Ft. Thomas team.
1st RD: vs St. Michaels

9. Patagonia:
#2 seed from South and the Darlings of the tournament after only
winning a few games last year.
1st Round: vs Joy Christian

10. Joe City:
Upset in North Regionals vs Grand Canyon and will sit home.

10. St. David:
Playing good ball as of late.
1st RD: vs Valley Lutheran

12. Joy Christian:
Lost in West but did take Salome to OT this season.
1st RD: vs Patagonia

13. Grand Canyon
Tough match vs SR in first round. Great game vs JC to get to state.
1st RD: vs SaltRiver

14. Gilbert Christian:
Playing without top player trying to defend state title.
1st RD: vs Rock Point

15. Duncan:
Defeated Ft. Thomas this year so can be dangerous team.
1st. RD: vs Seligman

Looking In: Bagdad, Greenfields

Soccer fever is upon us as the state playoffs will start today for the 1-3A Winter Soccer Playoffs.

I wanted to post the matchups today and I chose the 3A prep Notes. lets get started:

Boys State Soccer:

#1 PRCA vs #16 Tanque Verde

#8 SCA vs Wickenburg

#5 Safford vs Antelope

#4 Valley Christian vs South Pointe

#3 NWC vs #14 NPP

#6 EFH vs #11 San Tan Foothills

#7 Fountain Hills vs #10 YC

#2 Florence vs #15 Coolidge

Girls State Soccer:

#8 Safford vs #9 Tempe Prep

#5 Sedona vs Globe

#6 Florence vs #11 YC

#7 NWC vs #10 St. Gregs

Good morning 2A sports fans!

Tonight we will be broadcasting the Thatcher vs Benson games for GBB and BBB. This should be a great game on both ends. The Benson girls seem to be playing much better and the boys game should be a huge fight and I am really looking forward to this event. The girls game starts first and then the boys to follow so catch it on www.azsportsnetwork.com .

Valley Christian vs Phoenix Christian:
The game coming up this Friday will take place at Valley Christian. After strong negotiations we have been authorized to do this game compliments of our friends at VC. It was a tough battle because it is going to be a packed crowd so they arranged that we get one seat and I have to sit on JPs shoulders in order to telecast the game. I agreed and will tell JP on Gameday! We are very fortunate to call this game WHICH SHOULD NOT BE BEING PLAYED!!!!! I also tried for some Krispy kremes but that did not go over well.

Williams Boys Alert:
They beat Sedona last night which is a good victory. They now have Greyhills and St. Johns left as tough contests.

Good Morning 1A Sports Fans:

Lets get to it this morning!

So far in 1A basketball we have some regional pairings from some of our fans. Here are a few of those region pairings and matchups for your convenience. Please remember that in the South it is all about the powerpoints.

2A Coach posted this info:

East Regionals:

Tuesday

Girls

4M Veritas @ 1R Ft. Thomas 5:30PM3R Cibecue @ 2M Gilbert Christian 5:30PM
3M Superior @ 2R Duncan 5:30PM4R Bowie/San Simon @ 1M Salt River 5:30PM
Top 2 Games and bottom two games will play each other on friday at Eastern Arizona College Times will be anounced on wednesday morning.

Boys

Tuesday
4M Salt River @ 1R Duncan 7:00PM3R Cibecue vs. 2M Veritas @ Salt River High School 7:00PM
4R Clifton @ 1M Gilbert Christian 7:00PM3M Superior @ 2R Fort Thomas 7:00PM

Winners of the top 2 and bottom 2 will play each other on friday at Eastern Arizona College Times for those games will not be known till wednesday morning

North Regionals: Posted by hoopnation

Boys Friday 2/5

1W Beaver Dam V. 4E Rock Point 9:45am
2E St. Mike's V. 3W Grand Canyon 1:15pm
1E Joe City V. 4W Fredonia 4:45pm
2W Ash Fork V. 3E Mogollon 8:15pm

Girls Friday 2/5

1W Seligman V. 4E NPA 8:00am
2E St. Mike's V. 3W Fredonia 11:30am
1E Rock Point V. 4W Ashfork 3:00pm
2W Grand Canyon V. 3E Joe City 6:30pm

Boys Basketball:

Gilbert Christian:
They finish undefeated and according to some ranking sources they have already handed over the championship to them but not us. They are definately a very talented team but based on beating Valley Lutheran by 16 and St. Gregs (without Frank) by the 20 or so this is enough of a range where going into playoffs teams may now think they are human. The strength of this team is their quick style of play and pressing ability. However, the depth if in foul trouble can be an issue. Against St. Gregs they did prove that they can play the half-court game. The key is how the refs will allow them to play. If they call it tight then it can be an equalizer. But in the end you better be able to beat the press, stop fast-break and then mix it up on offense and defense keeping them confused. They like to get the mis-match at the PG position vs man with the taller Currier vs a smaller player and he likes to drive and take that jumper. Patterson inside is a good looking aggressive center but against refs who call it tight like at St. Gregs he can get into foul trouble. With all of that I think the X-factore of them is the smaller Palacio PG. He totally took over the St. Greg game and can shoot, drive and give them a much needed spark.

South PowerPoints:

St. Augustine:
It looks like right now the team with the outcry for using PPTs in the South is going to be in boys basketball and the poster-child is going to be St. Augustine. They are sitting in 3rd place and Immaculate is very close behind by a few points and have 3 games left. That should be enough even if they lose all games to get the 4th seed spot.

Patagonia:
How do the Lobos salvage a season of frustration?! YOu play your last games hard and try and knock off Immaculate Heart and mess them up for making the playoffs. St. Augustine now has a new friend in the Lobos!!

Hello 3A fans!

I want to congratulate all of the state spiritline teams who competed at the state championships this last Saturday in Prescott Valley. It was very exciting!!

WE ARE PUMPED!!!!! We will be covering the North Regionals and representing Chinle as their crew. The Den is an amazing atmosphere and I cannot wait until next week. It is 4 days of probably the best basketball event in our state even equalling the state playoffs!

It starts next Tuesday and goes thru Friday and we will have all games. I am also excited because I have been losing weight just so I can go and meet with my local hook-up and get my dose of Navajo tacos!! The only thing better would be to find the local Tamale lady!! I also enjoy the fans and of course our friends from up North who we love to see and spend time with, which is never long enough. Last time we went to Chinle and covered the Coke Classic it was coooooooolllllllddddddd brrrrr. Now I love the cold and I was in heaven. But as I age I am finding out my body cannot take it like it use to and I find myself wimping out like others and wearing jackets. BUTTTTTT I will always wear shorts and never give them up even for the North cold weather.

ELVIS ALERT!!
We were told there is the Navajo Elvis guy at the games. Our goal is to get him on video and interview him on our show!! I knew Elvis wasn't dead!! he just relocated to the area of the best Navajo Tacos around!!!

Winslow Spiritline State Champions:
The North 3A had only one representative at state and they won a state championship!!! WOW they were awesome!!

Can anybody stop EFH Boys team??!!!!:
Yes and I predict that if you are a coach and call or text me I will have the correct prescription to defeat the EFH team in what would be the greatest upset possibly in the states history! However, this will not come cheap and I will be auctioning them off next week for all to bid on. This is a money back gaurantee but do not think my plan is for the weak-minded. The Vision I received last week on how to defeat this team is for only those coaches that are willing to put it all on the line!! No holding back because the plan is so deep that only a few will even have the brain capacity to figure it out. That is why the person who wins the bid on my plans should also get the extended service of me with your team helping you install for that important game.

GBB Round Valley Knocks off #1 Window Rock:
Yep they pulled it off!!! But as the basketball gods would have none of it as the RV team then turns around and loses to Alchesay by 19!???!! I tell people time and time again about the emtional aspect of the game and still people think it is a joke. However, WR may have been looking ahead as they ended up defeating Winslow showing they are still 1 of the top teams who could win state this season.

GBB Safford Loses Hancock:
IMO Safford was the only team who had the chance to break thru the North Gauntlet in the playoffs but their chances just decreased after losing their top player Hancock to an ACL injury. I saw this happen early in their game vs benson but did not want to say anything until I knew how long she would be out. Safford has a lot of depth and still has a chance but that did take a big hit with the loss to hancock. The North top 3 are very tough and the losses vs each other just makes them better. But come playoff time Safford must hope, which they should get, is 2 playoff games at home and try to avoid most North/native teams early. But after watching them they are a very good looking team with size, speed and depth.

BBB Globe:
Billy the Kidd sighting????? I hear he is back in Globe after being elsewhere during football season. If this is true the baseball coach must be overjoyed and must have been a very good person this last year because that will be huge for his chances at repeating in baseball this season.

GBB:
Empire: The girls lost Cooper to Patagonia but have moved up and is sitting in a nice spot to try and get to the playoffs this season.

Hello 2A sports fans!!

I wanted to give a huge shout to all of the cheerleading competitors at the state championship this last weekend which we covered. It was totally awesome and I will be having an editorial article tomorrow on the event.

The countdown begins as we enter into the top 24 teams in basketball who will make the playoffs or not.

A few years back as an AD I had brought a plan up in our conference that basically included allowing all teams into the playoffs, including football as well. At that point it was turned down and I was not allowed to have coaches see this format. However, last season this same format was brought to a vote and some felt it was to many teams. In the end they voted to include 24 teams and get rid of regionals.

Now the reason I still do not like this format is because of the new regional scheduling. If not for the regional scheduling I think we would have gotten close to having this as near as perfect as possible without including all teams. The regional scheduling has been horrible and made the conferences worth nothing as well as making some regions loaded with easier teams where some teams will benefit by getting in and other stronger team losing out by being in a tougher area for the regional scheduling.

I want to say once more how I am still asking Valley Christian and Phoenix Christian GBB teams to cancel the game this Friday!! Unless this is a close game this is the sort of game that is needed for our 2A playoffs which at times has been about a few teams. Having the teams undefeated and opposite sides of the bracket would have been awesome. But if VC wins and it is not close the playoffs for me will not be as exciting.

Now this gets me back to my next complaint for the 2A people as well as others. Put in a committee to seed these teams after the season is over so we do not have a fiasco like in football. IF....PC and VC are on the same side of the brackets that is gonna be a huge joke come playoff time. It is time to start being about getting the top teams into the title game instead of other issues.

Right now there are a few teams on the bubble in 2A in both the girls and boys side. The bottom of the powerpoints are going to come down to the final games being played.

Now lets talk about what happened this last week in 2A basketball:

Boys Basketball:

SCA over WWP and over Ft. Hills:
Well the hype of this game was much more exciting than the final outcome which was all SCA from beginning to the end. With only 2 turnovers they showed why they are a very good team. WWP is also very tough but I think the schedule of pre-season games is a huge difference for these type of teams. SCA lost their main big kid and reloads with a former NBA players son in Ostertag. So far the only team to come close to SCA besides the OT loss to EFH was VC. We do have film on our site of this game.

VC over Precision:
VC wins this in 2 OTs and Precision may be peaking at the right time. VC has played a tough schedule and will be ready come playoff time.

SanCarlos over Benson by 5:
Sure now other ranking sources have gotten behind the SC bandwagon now but from the out-set they have been in our top 5 because in Antonio they have one of the best players in 2A. Please do not look at this game as a bad victory. Benson is not the team who was struggling early on. They have regrouped and although they have absolutely no depth to speak of they are a very good team and can do it all. They may be one of the more physical teams to play in 2A this season. Benson has Thatcher Tuesday of this week in a game we will cover live and should be a very good game. SC has PRCA coming up and that should also be a great battle.

Willcox:
If you checked out our rankings they have moved up fast and deservingly so. I will have to say that I missed this one because of a loss they had vs Pima but I later found out their main player was out but is now back again. This Willcox team, playing with the confidence they gained from football is a huge threat to get to the state championship this season. This is not a joke at all. In my opinion one of the few rural schools that have a chance is Willcox and they have a great chance. Keep an eye on this Willcox team as a good position in the PPTs will give them a chance to get to the finals as they did in football.

North Teams:
What has happened to Many Farms??? They have dropped off the radar. GreyHills is another nice looking team who may not make the playoffs. However, a team that is on the rise but will not make our top 5 is Williams. They beat MF this last week quite handidly and have 3 games here late that will vault them higher in the PPTs. Luckily they finally jumped into the top 24 and have more than likely secured a playoff spot. Last year Valley Sanders was very tough and this season has dropped off of the map.

ALA over Horizon Honors:
Who saw this coming?? HH is in the playoffs but they are not playing good basketball right now. ALA helped themselves get back into the playoff hunt.

Morenci:
They are on a 4 game losing skid and they will welcome the game vs Tombstone this week as they need to get back on track to keep their playoff hopes a live. The problem is Tombstone can be a dangerous team even after losing a few kids. One day they play with tons of heart and then the next day they struggle with the fundamentals. With 3 games left they need to win 2 of 3 to secure a spot especially with an @ game with Benson in between Tombston and Pima. The game vs Pima could just well be the game that gets them in or out but the Tombstone game is a must win!

Bisbees chances fading away:
They are also on a 4 game losing skid and it does not get better this week! With games with Benson and Willcox they really need to beat Tombstone. They are sitting at #24 right now and even 1 win may not get them into the playoffs.

Tombstone:
How does a coach save his season if you are the Yello Jackets??!! With no chance of making the playoffs they have a chance to hurt 2 rival schools and knock them out of the playoffs with games at Morenci and Bisbee. If Tombstone beats 1 od these teams they are probably out of the playoffs barring no upsets. They end with Thatcher and Willcox but if they can end going 2-2 that would be a great way to head into next season.

NEXT Girls Basketball!

Hello 1A sports fans!!!

Wow what a week! This is the time of year that we all look forward to and there is plenty of action for us to talk about as we enter playoffs for the Winter Sports in AZ. The 1-3A soccer playoffs start this week and of course we have a lot of the regionals happening as well.

This last week we had a lot of action on the basketball court with a few upsets and a few games that have shown some teams are destined to possibly win it all at state.

Lets get this started:

Soccer:The 1-3A soccer playoffs start this week and as most of you know I was a college and HS soccer HC and love the game. Tomorrow we will do a preview on our blogs for you so that we can give some good attention to the smallball soccer in AZ.

Girls Basketball:

If you look at our rankings you can see that not one team has been overlooked and this week we will discuss what we think is happening going into the regionals and state playoffs which start in about 2 weeks.

1A Team of the Week Honors goes to Rock Point!! Last week they beat Mogollon 2x, got a revenge win at home by defeating St. Michaels and then blew out Joe City to end their spectacular week to show us all they are a legit contender for the title! So congrats to Rock Point for being named the AZSportsnetwork 1A Team of the Week!

North:

Fredonia: If there was any chance for them to make regionals I think it is far fetched this year as they have been losing games BIG this season and unless something drastically changes I do not see them getting out of regionals and surprising teams at state.

Northland Prep: I have liked this teams grit all season! They had a huge chance to beat Rock Point but could not hold onto the lead earlier in the season. They them turned around and got blown out and it seemed like this team was done for the year. I have been saying they can make a huge impact come regionasl and I still believe it as they stayed true to form as they defeated a very strong St. Mikes team and showing us all they may be the most dangerous team come regionals and if they make state!

Rock Point: Wow!!! what a week. The game at home vs St. Mikes was a huge win. But to get 4 big wins during the week shows they can keep focused for state and make a run at the title. The game I felt was huge was how badly they defeated JC, who is a very good team. Beating them by 18, 49-31 was a very good message to send to all across the state. They set themselves up for a strong run at regionals and state. I think what is very important is that they are being tested late in the season while SR and GB are coasting to easy victories at the end of the season. We will see if this helps. If they get the top seed and SR does as well then they would meet in the semis if it all comes to a head as it should.

Joe City: They had a rough week! But losing to St. Mikes and RP is not real bad as they have a rematch vs St. Mikes again this week before they head to regionals. This team has shown a lot and can win regionals but they cannot overlook a few teams in this tough region!

Seligman: This team has quietly just kept winning and lost a 10 point game vs Williams who earlier in the week upset Many Farms. Seligman is a darkhorse to make state and I think they can be dangerous if they get thru the gauntlet in the North regionals and make state. They have already beaten JC but did lose to Grand Canyon which dropped them earlier in the year in our rankings. Do not forget they also only lost by 1 to williams earlier in the year.

Grand Canyon: They have quietly continued to win and can also make noise at regionals. Their big wins have been to JC and Northland prep. They lost a close game to Seligman. Many people who have seen them, and this is 1 team I have not, feel at the beginning of the season they did not look like a playoff team. However, they have competed hard this season and going into what is the best region in 1A have a shot and could make this very interesting.

South Division: Remember that this division now comes down to the top 4 teams in powerpoints and there are not any regionals.

Who is in:
#1 seed: Gila Bend
#2 Seed: Patagonia unless they falter vs Immaculate
#3 St. David

Who has a shot at the #4 seed:

Greenfields: They are sitting 4 PPTs ahead of St. Gregs right now with the following games left to be played and our predictions:

2-2-2010: @ Academy of Tucson: Win
2-4-2010: Home vs St. Gregs: Underdog
2-5-2010: @ St. David: Heavy Underdog L

With this 4 point lead the game vs St. Gregs is huge. For GR the game they lost earlier vs Immaculate could come down to the game where they let a game slip and costs them the 4th playoff spot in the south. Plus the victory for St. Gregs vs Gilbert Christian really was a big victory as well. if they can beat St. Gregs then they can get the 4th spot.

St. Gregs: They are about 4 points behind GF with a match vs them this Thursday away. They have the following games left and are the heavy favorites to win the 4th seed. On paper they are the better team but......

2-2-2010: Desert Christian: Non-bonus points I think
2-4-2010: @ Greenfields: If they win they get the 4th spot barring any other upsets. Destiny in their hands.
2-5-2010: Host Gila Bend: L
2-9-2010: Host TO: W and if they lose to Gf earlier this game could be the game that eventually could clinch it in the end.

Immaculate Heart: Still in the running being 9 points off of Greenfields and near 3 from St. Gregory. But they have a chance and will need to sweep in order to get the 4th spot and it will not be easy!

2-2-2010: Host Patagonia: Underdog
2-4-2010: Host Tanque Verde: W
2-5-2010: @ Patagonia

Their season goes thru a Patagonia team who very well could be the story of the season. if they can sweep all of these games with the victory point they have a chance. But any loss and they are done barring a total melt-down of the other teams which I do not see happening. They may get Patagonia 1x but I do not see a sweep.

Who wishes there was still a regional: Valley Union has a decent team but the loss vs St. Gregs really hurt their chances.

But with the teams under Gila Bend being so close in talent the regionals would have been up for grabs barring any upset of GB.

East Division: Regionals here we come!!!

Salt River: This seems to be all about 2-4 as Salt River has dominated all but GB this season. However, the fact they have to go on a long road trip out East could be the hardest obstacle for them at regionals. They have to stay focused as not only is Ft. Thomas in their region but a Duncan team who just defeated Ft. Thomas this last week. In the past this region is notorious for upsets so you must tread carefully. If they win they are opposite of Gila bend in state. If they are upset then they will see GB sooner than later at state if all plays out.

Ft. Thomas: They were upset by Duncan @ Duncan but we had been warning you about this early on in the season. They have 3 strong players and will be tough at regionals but what will be interesting is if they or Duncan will be on the same side of the bracket with SR at regionals which means a tougher game in the semis for them and SR unless it is a 2-3 seed and they meet Duncan instead.

Duncan: Most dangerous team who will make the playoffs no matter what seed they get in at state.

Superior and Gilbert Christian: Both these teams have chances for the 4th seed as well as a few other teams. GC is still struggling but have beaten Superior in closer games this season. I would call it equal going into regionals.

West Division: This division is all about 3 teams. VL, Salome and yes Joy Christian. Although JChrisitian lost to VL and beat Salome they are the team secure with the 3rd spot. Salome and VL are as close as they get and really this is the regional with a less chance for an upset from teams outside these top 3. if there is a chance it will come from PhoeniX Day School for the Deaf or bagdad with Bagdad having already beaten PDSD 2x this season.

Coming Next: Boys basketball!!