State title chases begin Thursday

Basketball: March Madness is here. At least for the high school boys and girls teams in our area.

This Thursday through Saturday, teams in every classification in Washington will be competing for state titles, including the 2B and 1B tournaments at the Spokane Arena. In Idaho, the Coeur d’Alene girls have already captured the 5A state title, but it’s the Idaho boys turn this week.

Look for our special section on Thursday. It will include features and columns on state participants and a look at the road to the state championships.

Indians’ Axford 18 for 18 in Oscars

Baseball: After converting 49 consecutive saves from 2011 to early 2012, John Axford has another streak going.

The Cleveland Indians closer went 18 for 18 on his Academy Awards picks.

Axford made the projections after the Indians’ game Sunday on his Facebook page. Last year, Axford was correct on 14 of his 15 Oscar selections. There are 24 Oscar categories, and Axford said on Twitter he will predict them all next year.

“I hope he’s as good when it comes to saves,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.

Associated Press

Lindsay Davenport elected to Hall

Tennis: Lindsay Davenport was in the middle of another major life milestone when she found out she had been elected to the Tennis Hall of Fame.

The three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 got the call in January while in a hospital about to give birth to her fourth child. With daughter Haven nearly 2 months old now, Davenport can start to reflect on the honor.

“Growing up playing tennis, getting to the Hall of Fame was never even in my dreams,” she said Monday after the class of 2014 was announced. “It seemed a little bit too big for me.”

Associated Press