Panhandle Picks with Greg Lee

I wrapped up my 12th season victory in 14 years last week.

I picked seven of nine games correctly, topping Priest River boys basketball coach Ryan Bodecker by two. With one week left in the regular season, the scoreboard reads: Lee 55-17 (.764), Guests 49-23 (.681).

My traditional final guest has been co-worker Jim Meehan. But Meehan has tired of losing to me and consequently begged out. Seriously, though, Meehan’s work responsibilities have changed at the S-R and he thought it was the right time to bypass the traditional whuppins I’d administer. Meehan won last year to pull within 6-5-2 in the overall series.

So what I’ll do with the final week is start rotating it among the S-R staff. There’s no better place to start than at the top with my boss, sports editor Joe Palmquist.

Post Falls at Coeur d’Alene: Coaches frequently say that the team that makes the least turnovers generally wins. I say the team that has the most toes left tonight will win.

The Trojans have yet to win a big game this year. They’ve lost four in a row, including another fourth-quarter implosion to Lewiston, 39-21. The Vikings, meanwhile, beat Lewiston two weeks ago, and they did so quite convincingly. CdA led 35-7 at halftime before Lewiston tightened things up, 42-28, with scores against the Vikings’ reserves.

The obvious pick here is the Vikings. I think CdA, overall, is the better team. At least it has the better defense.

But I’m going against conventional wisdom. Since my boss took CdA, well I, quite frankly, am left with the Trojans. PF ends its skid, forcing a three-way tie for the second berth. PF 28, CdA 24.

Guest: I want to pick PF because I have a nephew who plays for the freshman team. But can the Trojans end their second-half skid? Sorry, Johnny. CdA 35, PF 21.

Lake City at Lewiston: T-Wolves coach Van Troxel held out running back B.J. Palmer because of injuries last week to make sure he was healthy this week. He held out wide receiver Kyle Graves for discipline reasons.

Both return and should make an impact, especially Palmer.

Lewiston stayed in the playoff hunt with a big road win at PF last week. But it will turn out to just be a tease to Bengals fans. LC will capture the league title and right to play host to a first-round game and secure a playoff berth for the 11th straight season. LC 36, Lewiston 21.

Guest: LC had one big bite of humble pie. The T-Wolves won’t be back for seconds. LC 42, Lewiston 19.