I headed out the door yesterday morning to go grab some breakfast, only to think that I was Walter Matthau in the opening scene of "Grumpy Old Men." Everybody now, hit that tune...

"We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave..."

Ah yes. And one of the first sure-fire signs of spring around my neighborhood? The traffic jam on the Monon Trail for a good 12 hours yesterday. Another sure-fire sign of spring? Well, it's March, and we've got hoops galore to discuss.

BOYS SECTIONALS

I went out to Warren Central for Sectional 10 semis on Friday night. Classic Hoosier Hysteria. What a second half between Cathedral and Lawrence North, although both programs ended their seasons this weekend. The crowd was great, but the action on the floor made this one suspenseful. Cathedral's full-court press put them within striking distance in the last minute, but LN was poised in icing the game on the foul line. But this sectional was all about North Central, who surprised many with its performance in Saturday night's title game. Fantastic coaching job by Doug Mitchell to do his best impersonation of Bruce Pearl and Tennessee, having his players remain relentless from baseline to baseline throughout all 32 minutes and finally wore down the Wildcats in the end.

How 'bout that finish at Beech Grove? The host Hornets did it the hard way last week by winning possibly the toughest three-game stretch out of anyone in the state. Eric Weathers' buzzer-beater against Northwest in the title game gave Beech Grove their first sectional title in 15 years, and that was after an 8-point win against Roncalli and another 2-point win against Chatard in the semis.

Another fantastic finish came out of 2A Sectional 46 hosted by South Putnam, where Tri West finally got over the hump with a sectional title. After heartbreak the past two seasons as favorites in that sectional, the Bruins earned the crown with a 50-49 win against Covenant Christian. Andrew Keck made the two most important shots of his life when he sunk two free throws with four seconds remaining to take the lead. And his arms were probably feeling like Jello at that point.

Keep an eye out this week on the blog and homepage for a look at upcoming regionals. There's still a few delayed sectional title games tonight as well, one at Carmel where the Greyhounds will take on Noblesville and one at Triton Central where Heritage Christian will be battling with Ritter.

GIRLS STATE FINALS

And the reason that the Carmel boys sectional game is being played tonight? Well, there was another pretty important game being played for the school on Saturday night at Conseco. The ladies were led by Chrissy Steffen's 31 points in capping off quite a memorable tournament for her individually. And for the school, the girls hoops program's first ever state championship resulted in No. 100 overall. The Greyhounds were on a mission throughout the tourney and made that clear by adapting their style of play to their opponents, including their best offensive effort on Saturday against a high octane SB Washington team.

"Three" was the magic number for Heritage Christian in the 2A title game, as the Eagles notched No. 3 in a row with a controlling 53-31 win against previously undefeated Oak Hill. A third quarter run sealed it for the Eagles, but it was the defensive effort that really set the tone in pulling away. Will this be a rematch of next year's 2A title game? Both teams return just about everybody.

And, although they didn't come out of Conseco with state titles, University and Chatard need to be commended for fine seasons on the hardwood. In 3A, Chatard fell in a nail-biter to Plymouth, 47-46, while University couldn't seem to get its offense rolling in a 36-32 loss to FW Canterbury. When you make it this far, it surely has been a fun ride despite the disappointment.

To wrap things up for today, I'd just like to say thanks to all of the players and fans that make this time of year so memorable for everyone...win or lose. As all of you can attest, it is the players on the floor who lay it all out on the line and show us what high school athletics is all about. Cheers.