Ah, it’s back to the Great Indoors

I’m often asked what my favorite sport to cover or favorite season is.

As I write this and look outside my second-floor office window in Coeur d’Alene and watch tiny snowflakes fall, I’m tickled to be heading to any warm gym with fresh popcorn.

My patent response is “Whatever season we’re currently in.”

That’s as close to the truth as I can get. I don’t have a favorite sport, not even among the major prep sports. I have a few that I like less than others, to be sure. I’ll be glad to whisper those under my breath, but you won’t see them in print. I want those cards and letters from the fans to keep coming.

So I say all of that to say this: I’m glad we’re heading inside for a few months.

There will be plenty of entertaining games and wrestling matches to watch over the next 90 some days.

In girls basketball, for example, I thought that Coeur d’Alene and Lake City would wage a couple of tugs of war before state berths were decided. But I have my suspicions now. With the first Inland Empire League matchup between the rivals scheduled for two weeks from tonight – along with the first matchup for the boys – the Vikings have a huge edge. The Timberwolves have much ground to make up.

I’m looking forward to following the Wallace and Kootenai girls, too. They’ll face off for the first time Jan. 12, and without even looking at the schedules I’m sure I won’t catch up to those teams until the district tourney. But I think Wallace can make a serious run at a state title and Kootenai won’t be too far behind.

Wrestling will be the featured sport on the Prep Page next week. As usual, we’ll have a handful of athletes challenge for state titles. Bonners Ferry, with senior Adam Hall leading the charge, will make a run for a third straight state trophy this year.

The always entertaining Tri-State tournament, held at North Idaho College, is the final big event before we head into the holidays. If you’ve never attended a wrestling match, head out to NIC on either Dec. 16 or for the tourney finals the evening of Dec. 17. Tri-State traditionally is chock-full of state-title caliber athletes, and it won’t disappoint this year.

But what makes winters sufferable is boys basketball. Not that we have teams challenging for state titles around here every season. Hardly.

Can you tell me without looking it up the last area boys team to win a state championship? Here’s a hint: 1997-98.

I was reminded of that year and team (Coeur d’Alene, in case you didn’t know) recently when I received an e-mail from David Wood. He’s living in the Midwest these days, going to graduate school. He was a starter for coach Larry Bieber.

Wood wasn’t blessed with the most athletic talent. But his head was overflowing with smarts. He carried a 4.0 grade-point average, and he got the most athletic ability out of his body. He was the epitome of a team player. Of all the Vikings on that team, he was the one I was most thrilled for when they knocked off Borah 56-53 in the state final. He’s easy to pick out in CdA’s team photo that year. He was the only player smiling.

Anyway, Wood sent me an e-mail to tell me that he was going through some old stuff and found a story I had written about him that his mother had clipped out and saved. It brought back fond memories for him and he just wanted to write and say thanks.

It brought back good memories for me, too. It reminded me why I’m in this business. It’s for the kids and nobody else.

So I’m looking forward to another season that, by year’s end, I know will include many memories for the athletes about whom I have a privilege to write. Come along for the ride.