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Local basketball teams ranked in the most recent AP poll:

GIRLS
Dudley, #10 3-A
Graham, #8 2-A
Bishop McGuinness, #1 1-A
River Mill, #2 1-A
Thomasville, #10 1-A

BOYS
Dudley, #3 3-A
Ragsdale, #4 3-A
Northern Guilford, #10 3-A
Reidsville, #6 2-A
Bishop McGuinness, #2 1-A
Thomasville, #6 1-A

The Greensboro Sports Council just announced that it will invite the same eight teams back for next year's Pizza Hut Invitational. As a reminder, that's Greensboro Day, Grimsley, Northeast Guilford, Northern Guilford, Northwest Guilford, Page, Ragsdale and Smith. Notice that list doesn't include Dudley, which went to the Gatorade International Championship in Puerto Rico in lieu of playing here this year. Tournament officials worried that the Panthers' absence might hurt attendance, but a record 15,000-plus fans attended throughout the week, the GSC announced today. Panthers girls head coach Kris Britton said she hadn't heard of the decision until I called her this afternoon. She sounded a tad disappointed, but it's likely the Panthers will have no shortage of alternatives. "At this point, I don't even care about next season," Britton said. "If (Pizza Hut) isn't an option, we'll have to find some place else to play. We'll definitely fill our schedule so we can play as many games as we can." Also of note, a record $96,000 will be split between the eight schools

Interesting story from the AP today about the state of New York approving scaled-back high school athletic schedules as a cost-cutting measure. It's been floated as an idea here. How do you feel about it? Would you be willing to give up one donut to save the rest of the dozen?

I'm guessing it was her turn to bring the orange slices.

I feel quite confident saying those were the two most talented teams I've seen since I've been here.

Assuming they both make it through to the conference tournament finals, who do you like in Round 3?

Most all basketball games have been postponed until tomorrow because of the, ahem, snow. (A Detroit native, y'all still amuse me with this.) A few private schools will still play tonight, including Oak Ridge. Wrestling playoffs have also been postponed. From the NCHSAA release:

CHAPEL HILL ­ The brief winter weather that moved through the state during the night did cause some school systems to close, and as a result there have been a few postponements of opening-round matches in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association dual team wrestling playoffs tonight.
In all cases, four schools are scheduled to go to one site to wrestle the first two rounds, so the postponements from tonight (Tuesday) are all now scheduled for Wednesday, with action starting at 6 p.m.
Since Thursday¹s competition in 2-A, 3-A and 4-A brings the winners of the first two rounds together at one site, there may be a delay in determining those sites in some cases pending the outcome of these postponements.
Here are the postponements as reported to the NCHSAA:
2-A: Orange vs. Mayodan Dalton McMichael and Eastern Guilford vs. Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons, all scheduled for Orange
3-A: Southern Lee vs. Greensboro Dudley and Eden Morehead vs. Burlington Williams, all at Burlington Williams
Monroe Piedmont vs. Southwestern Randolph and Trinity vs.
High Point T.W. Andrews, all at Southwestern Randolph
4-A: Northwest Guilford vs. Charlotte Mallard Creek and East Gaston vs. Alexander Central, all at Mallard Creek
Davie vs. South Caldwell and Morganton Freedom vs. High Point Central, all at Davie County

Northwest Guilford head coach Darlene Joyner passed along this photo of her team with Kay Yow at camp last summer:

It's been touching to see so many tributes pop up in the wake of Yow's passing. As Jackie Robinson once said, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."

Really good response to last week's article on the Smith swim team. This one came in last night:

Mr. Keller,

I read your article on Smith and the Magnificient Seven. It warmed my heart. My daughter was a 2004 graduate of Smith and a 2008 graduate of UNC, so I know good kids can come out of there. The insight I got from reading your article makes me know there are more kids there that will have bright futures. They are not concerned about participating in sport that is not as popular as basketball or football. It's ironic that Smith has a pool and some many kids at Smith do not know how to swim. I hope that the article encourages others to learn to swim and maybe join the swim team. I just appreciate you bringing to light a positive situation at our Smith because so many times that is not the story we see.

Thanks again and I look forward to your exposure of more sports events that shine a positive light on our schools.

L.Michele Smith

Many thanks to all of you who wrote in. The News & Record has explored the lack of minorities in swimming before, and there's no easy answer for how to get more involved. Not everybody can be like Smith assistant coach Spencer Abraham, who said the community pool "was like a day care" growing up for him and his two older brothers, who made the most of their physical advantage over him. "You had to learn how to swim," Abraham said, "or they might drown you."

From the Chicago Tribune's Bob Sakamoto:

The Public League is taking drastic measures to curb a rash of violence that has erupted at its basketball games in the last week.

Chicago Public Schools director of sports administration Calvin Davis told the Tribune late Thursday that three changes would be implemented for the rest of the season:

•All varsity boys basketball games will begin at 4 p.m.

•Fans from the visiting team will not be allowed to attend.

•In some cases in which there has been a history of trouble between schools, no fans will be allowed to attend the game.

On Tuesday night, North Lawndale forward Jermaine Winfield was shot in the leg during a postgame altercation in which Winfield came to the aid of a teammate.

Also Tuesday, the Simeon-Bogan game was halted in the fourth quarter when a fight erupted in the stands.

Just after North Lawndale beat Marshall on Thursday night, a fight between two female students turned into a bigger disturbance, with a police call for assistance resulting in eight squad cars and two paddy wagons being dispatched to Marshall.

We held off on the Mighty Nine basketball poll this year because, quite frankly, I wouldn't have known what I was talking about. But now that I've had a chance to see most every team in person, here's a preliminary ranking of the top Guilford teams as we roar into the heat of conference play. They're arbitrary, of course, so your suggestions are encouraged, particularly ones that point out how much of an idiot I am.

BOYS
9. Eastern Guilford - Northwest and Southeast could make a strong case to be here, but I'll give it to the Wildcats for the way they've jumped atop the North State 2-A standings at 3-1, including last week's 10-point victory over previously-13-3 West Stokes. Eastern is as athletic a team as I've seen and has clearly ascended the learning curve in head coach Dion Lansdale's first season.
8. Western Guilford - So goes youth: The Hornets followed a last-second win over a tough Western Alamance team with a 66-60 loss to 2-9 Bartlett Yancey. Winning their rematch with Northern Guilford next week would be a huge boost.
7. Grimsley - The honeymoon has ended for the Whirlies, who have dropped three of four after their 11-1 start. Every coach I've talked to loves senior forward Keith Manley, and if his supporting cast continues to develop, Grimsley could still be a good playoff team.
6. Andrews - After losing three straight in mid-December, the Red Raiders have righted the ship by winning six of their last seven to assume the driver's seat in the Piedmont Triad 3-A.
5. Page - The Pirates have kicked their Pizza Hut Invitational hangover with four straight victories, including road wins at East Forsyth and Grimsley that give them a trump card down the stretch.
4. Northern Guilford - Ragsdale, Oak Hill and Dudley are the only blemishes on the Nighthawks' record, which is like trying to find wrinkles on Jennifer Aniston. Their three conference wins have been by an average of 32 points.
3. Ragsdale - Could you imagine what this team would be like with Deuce Bello? Putting the Tiger-turned-Westchester star back in the lineup with Jay Canty would be like getting Keith Richards and Steven Tyler to front your band. Even without him, the Tigers seem destined to take the conference crown by themselves this year.
2. Dudley
1. Greensboro Day - This will surely flood my inbox with Panthers propaganda, but how can you pick against the Bengals when they haven't lost in a month, have beaten defending NCISAA semifinalists Charlotte Christian and Concord Cannon and were actually here for the Pizza Hut Invitational to prove their place on the court? Dudley has been putting up ridiculous scores and is a lock for a long playoff run, but it would take a head-to-head meeting to logically bump them up.

GIRLS
9. Northern Guilford - Only a sophomore, Samantha Coffer has emerged as one of the most reliable post players in the area. But it's the steady play of contributors like Kelly Tessitore and Jessica Johnson that has helped the Nighthawks weather a few storms.
8. Grimsley - Perhaps no coach deserves more credit thus far than the Whirlies' Hank Bullard, who has somehow coaxed a near-.500 record out of a team that literally started from scratch.
7. Southwest Guilford - They've won three of four and boast a few gem victories in their crown, including one of Ragsdale's four losses and two wins over Eastern Guilford. It's scary to think how young they are.
6. Eastern Guilford - The Wildcats started the year 3-7 but have raced to a 4-0 start in conference play, with three of those wins by double figures. They should run quite a few teams out of the gym.
5. High Point Central - They would have loved to hold serve with Northwest at home last week, but it's hard for the Bison to complain too much after a 13-3 start.
4. Northwest Guilford - They're only here because of their two losses to Ragsdale. Otherwise, the Vikings have been just as good as advertised.
3. Ragsdale
2. Southeast Guilford - Huge meeting for these two on Friday night, as Ragsdale tries to avenge Southeast's 25-22 Dec. 16 win that came without the benefit of injured star point guard Amy Beasley. The Tigers have won seven straight since then; Southeast, remarkably, is 6-1.
1. Dudley - An opposing coach was sitting behind me at a game recently and talked about how she would prepare for Dudley: "Just run all day." The Panthers have already posted conference victories by 30, 37, 40, 52 and 80 points. If they beat Rockingham County for a second time Friday night, the conference crown is all but theirs.