Panhandle picks with greg lee

It was far from a perfect start, but it was a successful debut nonetheless.

The Scribe picked nine of 14 games correctly, topping former NFL quarterback and Coeur d’Alene High graduate John Friesz. He completed, er, picked seven of 14 – a decent percentage winging the pigskin but not accurate enough to win here.

We stay in Coeur d’Alene again this week as my guest is City of Coeur d’Alene recreation director Steve Anthony.

Anthony, 53, made a name for himself back in the day at CdA High. A 1970 graduate, Anthony was a state sprint champ back when the distance was measured in yards not meters. “Almost too long ago to remember,” he quipped.

As the city’s youth and adult fun-and-games overseer, Anthony wears many hats. He’s the Idaho state commissioner for the Amateur Softball Association, and he’s on the ASA national rules committee. He predicts batters in all adult-level softball games will begin each at bat with a 1-1 count next year.

Post Falls at Lake City: The Trojans used an upset win over the Timberwolves last year as a springboard to a special season. Oh, what Post Falls would give for a similar victory on Friday.

LC’s improved defense will smother Post Falls’ fly offense that sorely lacks the ability to, well, fly – at least through the air. And the Trojans will have difficulty slowing down another versatile LC offense. LC 28, PF 7.

Guest: Lake City is a solid team. Post Falls has a new coach and lost a number of starters from last year. LC 31, PF 13.

Coeur d’Alene at Sandpoint: The combination of a rain-soaked field and a stout Bulldogs defense allowed Sandpoint to knock off the Vikings a year ago. Sandpoint had better pray for another cloudburst.

Sandpoint has glaring holes on both sides of the ball while the Vikings have fewer concerns than the Bulldogs. CdA 24, Sandpoint 13.

Guest: If Sandpoint can cut down the turnovers, it should be an excellent game. Sandpoint is always fired up for CdA, especially on its home field. But the CdA running attack will wear down the Bulldogs. CdA 34, Sandpoint 21.