Monday, May 24, 2010

Getting "Lost" in my District 11 softball playoff picks

FROM KEITH GROLLER

I just watched the series finale of "Lost" on this Sunday night and I don't exactly know what I just watched, but I kinda liked it.

That's kind of how I've felt about this entire softball season.

I didn't know what was going on from day-to-day, but the suspense and surprises made it entertaining, perhaps more so than most other years.

The unpredictability will likely continue through districts.

Maybe Schuylkill County has some powerhouses that will knock our socks off, but the upper echelon of the Lehigh Valley Conference and Colonial League and even from what I know of the Mountain Valley Conference, seems to be very balanced and lacking in dominance. Some might label this a mediocre season. In fact, some have.

While I've yet to find a truly amazing, complete team, I don't think any labels are fair until we see it all play out -- districts and states.

So how will it play out?

Here's my view:

Class 4A

Pocono Mt. East over Northampton, and Liberty over ES South in Tuesday's first round.

Quarterfinals

Liberty over Stroudsburg, Easton over Parkland, Pleasant Valley over Emmaus, Nazareth over PM East.

Semifinals

Easton over Liberty; Nazareth over Pleasant Valley.

Finals

Nazareth over Easton.

Class 3A

Quarterfinals

Palisades over Wilson, Becahi over Saucon Valley, Northwestern over So. Lehigh, Pottsville over Blue Mt.

Semifinals

Becahi over Palisades; Pottsville over Northwestern.

Finals

Pottsville over Becahi.

Class 2A

Quarterfinals

Pine Grove over Notre Dame, Pen Arygl over Schuylkill Haven, N. Schuylkill over Palmerton, Northern Lehigh over Catty.

Semiinals

Pine Grove over Pen Argyl, N. Lehigh over N. Schuylkill.

Finals

Pine Grove over N. Lehigh.

Class A

Quarterfinal

Marian over Pius X

Semifinals

Minersville over Marian; Williams Valley over Tri-Valley.

Finals

Minersville over Williams Valley.

Quarterfinal games I'd most like to see: Catty-Northern Lehigh, Easton-Parkland, Becahi-Saucon Valley, Wilson-Palisades.

Best chance for a district team to reach state finals: Pine Grove in 2A.

Dancing With the Stars Winner: Nicole Scherzinger.

American Idol: Lee DeWyze.

Stanley Cup Finals: Philly over Chicago.

NBA Finals: Celtics over Lakers.

From Keith Groller

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