What a day

Days like tomorrow (Friday) are why I love so deeply what I get paid to do on a daily basis. If you're a basketball fan, you'll like it just as much.

With so many local teams having successful playoff runs in this year's basketball playoffs, I've got a full slate scheduled for tomorrow.

At 10 a.m., I'll be at Tyler Junior College's Wagstaff Gym to watch two-time state champion Neches take on Savoy in an 1A, D-II girls regional semifinal.

After a little break, I'll be back at Wagstaff at 3 p.m. for the 1A, D-I semifinal between Slocum and Martin's Mill, after which I'll hop into my car.

I'll head up Hwy. 64 to Wills Point to watch the Cayuga boys take on Bland in the area round of the playoffs, after which I'll write about them all and then call it a day.

Don't want to make the drive to Bland? Lovelady and Sam Rayburn play at 5 p.m. at Wagstaff in the second 1A, D-I semifinal, and Grapeland takes on Gary at 7 p.m. at Whitehouse High School as well.

So, that's five relatively local games all within about an hour of each other.

Saturday has the possibility of two regional finals and baseball tournament final as well.

If you don't like live sports, then this certainly isn't for you. But if you're like me, get ready for a great weekend.

Inside the Polls (2/7/12)

The latest edition of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) polls have hit the Internet, and they look pretty much the same as last weeks.

On the girls' side, Slocum remains No. 18 in Class 1A, Division I, while Neches remained at No. 2 in 1A, Division II.

On the boys side, the only movement locally was backwards, as Slocum fell from No. 22 to out of the top-25 after beating Latexo on Tuesday but falling to No. 8 Grapeland on Saturday.

Above the eighth-ranked Sandies sits No. 3 Cayuga, with Class 1A, Division I's other top teams from Region III, Clarksville and Tenaha, remaining at No. 1 and No. 4, respectively.

For the full girls' poll, click here. For the boys', here.

2012-2014 UIL Realignment cutoff numbers

Here are the cutoff numbers the UIL used to determine the classifications for this latest realignment

5A: 2090+ (245 schools)
4A: 2089-1005 (250)
3A: 1004-450 (190)
2A: 449-200 (235)
1A/6M: >199.

And here are the division breaks for 2A and 1A. Anything above the number is Division I, below is D-II
2A 297.5
1A 11-Man 150.5
1A 6-Man 53.5

Finally, here are what our area schools turned in on snap-shot day:
Palestine: 802
Westwood: 448.5
Elkhart: 339
Frankston: 206
Cayuga: 199
Grapeland: 154
Oakwood: 59
Neches/Slocum: N/A

UIL Realignment

The numbers are in and district's are out. There will be plenty of time to figure out what it means later today, but for now here are the area's new districts:

Class 3A (all sports)
District 19 (Region III)
FAIRFIELD HS
GROESBECK HS
MEXIA HS
PALESTINE HS
RUSK HS

Class 2A, Division I (football)
District 11
CROCKETT HS
ELKHART HS
FRANKLIN HS
PALESTINE WESTWOOD HS
TEAGUE HS
TRINITY HS

Class 2A, Division I (all other sports)
District 19
CROCKETT HS
ELKHART HS
GARRISON HS
GROVETON HS
NACOGDOCHES CENTRAL HEIGHTS HS
PALESTINE WESTWOOD HS
WODEN HS

Inside the Polls (1/31/12)

It's Tuesday, which means a new batch of state polls have been released into the Internet.

In the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) latest girls poll, not much change locally. Slocum remains at No. 18 in Class 1A, Division I after a 1-1 week, while Neches remains at No. 2 in 1A, D-II.

As far as district rivals go, 20-3A members Madisonville (18) and Fairfield (25) are ranked, but no Class 2A teams are.

In 1A, Lovelady stayed at No. 7.

On the boys side, all three ranked teams from last week stayed at their respective rankings: Cayuga at No. 3, Grapeland at No. 8 and Slocum at No. 22.

In 20-3A, Mexia is the lone representative at No. 15, while LaPoynor comes in at No. 12 and Lovelady No. 14 in 1A, D-I.

The full polls can be found here (Boys) and here (Girls).

Inside the TABC polls (Week of 2/7/11)

It's getting down to the nitty-gritty time for high school basketball teams around the state this week. Girls regular-season play wraps up tonight, while the boys will finish things up with games tonight, Friday and next Tuesday.

For local squads, there wasn't loads of movement in the polls this week, as has been the norm for most of the season. That being said, many local teams still find themselves considered some of the top 20 or so squads in their respective classes in the state.

Let's dive in.

Inside the TABC polls (Week of 1/31/10)

We're entering the final month of regular season basketball, and a lot of the local squads are beginning to heat up as the playoffs approach.

Granted, these rankings have no bearing on making the playoffs (like Arizona's rankings system does), but it is a somewhat accurate gauge of where team's stand against the rest of the state.

So, without further adieu, let's dive in to this week's polls.

Inside the TABC polls (Week of 1/24/10)

GIRLS (Full Rankings)
Class 3A
Only a slight change in the area 3A implications this week. After an undefeated week, Fairfield moved up two spots to No. 23.

Class 2A
Still no local squads or district rivals in the top-25 for Class 2A

Class 1A, Div. I
We saw some local movement in this poll after last week. Slocum jumped a spot from No. 13 to No. 12 after topping Grapeland on Tuesday then having Friday off. Slocum's district rival, Lovelady, made a big jump from No. 17 to No. 13, still one spot behind a Slocum squad they beat in district play. As far as District 20 goes, Martin's Mill held strong at No. 3, while LaPoynor moved up to No. 16 from No. 18 after beating Cayuga and Cross Roads during the week.

Class 1A, Div. II
Once again, Neches comes in at No. 2, a spot it should occupy until A) the Lady Tigers lose or 2) Saltillo suffers its first loss of the year.

Inside the TABC polls (Week of 1/17/10)

I've learned something about basketball here in the Dogwood Circle as we near the halfway mark for district play in the area: We've got some teams that can ball.

As it currently stands, there are seven local squads (four boys/three girls) that sit inside the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) Top-25. Oddly enough, all of them are in the state's smallest two classifications, Class 1A, Div. I and Class 1A,  Div. II.

So, with that being said—and with squads from area districts also being ranked—from here on out during the basketball season we'll dive into the polls weekly to see where the movement, if any, has been for the local squads.