Everyone this Sunday will be thinking about one thing: the 18-0 New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady.

But Delaware County basketball fans and I will be more concerned with the seedings of District One's Class AAAA tournament, which are released Super Bowl Sunday. It looks as if Delco could see as many as eight teams making the tournament.

Bad news for Chester fans though: If the PIAA's new points system puts more weight on an undefeated season than on strength of schedule, the Clippers could be out of luck. Norristown, which sits at 20-0, might get the top seed with the 20-1 Clippers in the No. 2 slot (despite the fact that their only loss is to the nation's top team in St. Benedict's).

Stay tuned to this blog Sunday afternoon (peeling yourself away from the TV, of course) for information on the Class AAAA district tournament and where your favorite team is seeded.

A couple things I saw Tuesday night at Marple Newtown got me thinking about doing a 'By the Numbers' post. First, the Tigers' Soutiri Sapnas knocked down five 3-pointers. For being a slasher who drives the lane, that's an unreal amount. Second, there was a time in the third quarter when Marple had more 3-pointers as a team (7) than 2-point field goals (6).

Here are some of my other findings from a night of Delaware County boys basketball action:
2 - Wins Ridley needs to clinch the Central League crown, after beating Upper Darby tonight.
5 - Number of Haverford High scorers to reach double figures. That's NBA caliber, right there.
7 - Number of games (and losses) for the Haverford School in Inter-Ac play.
10 - Blocked shots recorded by Glen Mills' Aaric Murray, who posted a triple-double in the Bulls' win over Penn Wood.
10 - Consecutive Del Val League crowns won by Chester High. Kudos to the Clips for maintaining their reign of the league for the past decade.
14 - Conestoga's biggest lead over Marple Newtown, which overcame the deficit only to lose to the Pioneers.
26 - Points scored by Ridley's Shamar Harris, posting a new career-high in the process.

Something interesting is brewing in the Central League. No, Kobe Bryant is not coming back to play with Lower Merion for the stretch run, but his Aces and two other teams entered the week in contention for the regular-season title (and another just out of reach). Here's how it all shakes out:

1. Ridley (13-2 in league play) is 2-0 vs. Conestoga, 1-0 vs. Upper Darby and 0-1 vs. Lower Merion. Games remaining: 3. Key game: Saturday vs. Lower Merion. If the Green Raiders lose the game, they also lose the title.

2. Conestoga (12-3 in league play) is 2-0 vs. Lower Merion, 1-1 vs. Upper Darby and 0-2 vs. Ridley. Games remaining: 3. Key game: None. All three are against sub-.500 squads, but the Pioneers own the second-place tiebreaker over Lower Merion.

3. Lower Merion (12-3 in league play) is 1-0 vs. Ridley, 1-1 vs. Upper Darby and 0-2 vs. Conestoga. Games remaining: 3. Key game: Saturday vs. Ridley. The Aces will ascend to No. 1 with a win. Lose, and they're mired in third place.

4. Upper Darby is 9-6 in league play and worth mentioning because of its respectable record against all three of these teams. The Royals are 1-1 vs. Lower Merion, 1-1 vs. Conestoga and 0-1 vs. Ridley.

Now we play the waiting game.

You wouldn't be able to tell by the clear lack of snow, but February is around the corner. And that means the district and league playoffs will soon follow. Here's a look at where your team stands and what that could mean for the playoff picture:

Del Val League
Chester ....... 8-0, 18-1
Penn Wood ... 6-2, 15-5
Glen Mills ....... 5-2, 12-8
Acad. Park ... 5-3, 11-11
Chichester ... 4-4, 10-10
Interboro ....... 2-5, 5-14
Harriton ....... 1-6, 7-13
Sun Valley ... 0-8, 1-20

Central League
Ridley ...... 13-2, 18-3
L. Merion ... 12-3, 15-5
Conestoga ... 12-3, 17-4
Haverford ...... 9-6, 12-8
Up.Darby ... 9-6, 11-10
Penncrest ....... 7-9, 9-12
Strath Haven ....... 6-9, 8-12
Marple Newtown ... 5-10, 9-14
Radnor ....... 3-12, 6-14
Springfield ....... 1-14, 3-18

Catholic League Southern Division
Roman Catholic ....... 9-0, 12-2
Monsignor Bonner ....... 6-3, 14-5
Archbishop Carroll ....... 6-3, 12-7
Neumann-Goretti ........ 5-4, 10-8
St. Joseph's Prep ....... 4-5, 10-9
Cardinal O'Hara ....... 3-6, 9-10
West Catholic ....... 3-6, 12-7
Kennedy-Kenrick ....... 0-9, 3-16

Inter-Ac League
Germantown Academy ....... 5-1, 14-8
Chestnut Hill ....... 4-1, 16-5
Malvern Prep ....... 3-3, 12-8
Penn Charter ....... 2-2, 4-14
Episcopal Academy ....... 2-3, 12-8
Haverford School ....... 0-6, 7-13

Independent
Christian Academy ....... 13-6
Delco Christian ....... 12-7
Garnet Valley .......10-9

And from the hardwood, where just two teams played Sunday:
Monsignor Bonner drew the short straw (again). The Friars lost for the third time in six games, with the defeats coming by a combined five points. Ouch. And Chester improved to 19-1 behind four scorers reaching double digits. Rahlir Jefferson's 16 points led the way.

Academy Park coach Rick Pergolini has been absent from the sideline for close to a month.

Complications from a May 2006 kidney transplant have kept Pergolini either in the hospital or resting comfortably at home the last four weeks. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Times, Pergolini said he wants to return this week for the Knights' final two games.

The Knights would welcome his return, since they are desperately missing their coach. Said senior Anthony King: "...when I have a question about basketball or anything, he's the one I go to. Without him here, it's like, 'Well, who do I go to? Who do I turn to?'" Check out the story and read up about Pergolini's health status only in Sunday's Daily Times.

Elsewhere on the hardwood, there were only a few games Saturday featuring Delco teams:
...Playing its third game in four days, Glen Mills showed its fatigue in a loss to a Coatesville team that has won 15 of its last 18 games.
...Marple Newtown got 32 points from Soutiri Sapnas in an upset of Garnet Valley.
...Delco Christian has two big guns in Jon DeShields and Jake Godino. But every now and then Pete Hughes (16 points) flexes his muscles. He did Saturday in a win.

For 32 minutes, Academy Park's Anthony King and Chester's Nasir Robinson (pictured) played like a state title was on the line. Loose balls were pounced on. The glass was cleaned after clanged shots. But after the game, though, the two shook hands and smiled at one another as if they hadn't just done battle.

"I've known Nasir since he was four, so I can't be mad at him for winning," King said of Chester's 87-63 win. "He lived around the corner from me when we were kids. I've known him all my life."

Robinson, who has given his word to Pittsburgh, and King remain good friends to this day. Thus explaining all their pleasantries after the game, which is written about in detail in today's Daily Times.

"When he patted me on the back, he was saying 'Keep doing what you're doing,'" said King, the Knights' leading scorer who has narrowed his college choices to Penn State and Bloomsburg.

In other hoops news:
...Chester native Mark Medley scored 10 points in Delaware-based Tatnall's win over Delco Christian Friday.
...A crazy finish in tonight's only Delco Catholic League game. Archbishop Carroll snuck into a second-place tie with Monsignor Bonner by beating the Friars in overtime on two free throws with three seconds to go by Kasheef Festus. That's good, solid basketball right there.
...Ridley stayed in a tie with Lower Merion for first in the Central League with a win. The Green Raiders own the tie-breaker over second-place Conestoga, which they've beaten twice.
...My alma mater - Holy Ghost Prep - improved to 18-3 Friday. So for fans of any Class AAA teams, look out. Ghost will be a force in the district playoffs.

A TON of boys basketball material made the newspaper today. Be sure to check it out. Here's just a taste:

• A feature story on J.J. Rapczynski and Tim Lang (pictured), the Garnet Valley seniors approaching the 1,000-point plateau.
• A note on Springfield, which has fought through a tough season. The Cougars, plagued by injury, have been steadied by Lou Meindl, Paul Mooney and Sean Mulkeen.
• No surprise here: Chester takes yet another leap in the USA Today rankings. Nasir Robinson and Karon Burton likely have something to do with that.
• Sun Valley's Tom Brennan, only a junior, is closing in on 1,000 points. Keep an eye on him.
• For the rest of the boys hoops notebook, check it out here.

Tonight I'll be out at game. Thursday night, though, I took a break from covering boys basketball, and got a chance to hang out with the boys track and field stars of Delaware County at the Indoor Championships. Be sure to check out my account from that meet.

Delaware County's third-leading scorer took a breather Wednesday night. Ridley's Dan Robinson missed the Green Raiders' 62-42 Central League win over Springfield.

The cause? Robinson is suffering from broken skin under his right arm, something his coach says will not keep the 6-foot-7 senior forward out of the lineup for long. In fact, Ridley coach Keith Heinerichs said he expects Robinson to play in Friday's game at Strath Haven.

"It's a day-by-day thing is what I'm told," Heinerichs said by phone Wednesday. "I'm going to pull a Bill Belichick thing here and just say 'I don't know' because I don't. We hope it's nothing serious and we don't think it is."

Robinson averages nearly 20 points per game for the Green Raiders (17-3, 12-2). Shamar Harris and Steve Egee picked up the scoring load in Robinson's absence Wednesday, scoring 25 and 15 points respectively.

There were only a handful of boys basketball games in Delaware County Tuesday, but here's what we learned:

1. Chester has all but locked up the Del Val League title. Penn Wood, which had suffered just a single loss in league play, was the last hope to upset Chester. But the Clippers won by an 82-70 margin, and in fact haven't lost to a Pennsylvania team since last season's Class AAAA state title game.

2. Monsignor Bonner is for real in the Catholic League. Longtime power St. Joseph's Prep couldn't even slow down the red-hot Friars, falling 51-48. The only team standing in Bonner's way in the CL South is Roman Catholic, with whom the Friars have a rematch next month.

3. Garnet Valley will be a handful next season. The Central League might not be rolling out a red carpet when the Jaguars join the league for the 2008-09 season. GV beat up on Kennett, 64-55, and improved to 10-7 on the year. But the Jags could very well be 15-2. Five of their losses were by two or fewer possessions, including two 1-point defeats.

On a related note: You should definitely make time to check out one of the many Central League matchups tomorrow and help a good cause in the process. Some of the proceeds from Wednesday's Central League boys-girls hoops doubleheaders will be donated to Coaches vs. Cancer, a very worthy charity. For a full schedule, pick up today's Daily Times.

Archbishop Carroll's Kasheef Festus is getting a lot of press today. If you picked up today's Daily Times, you'll see that he's the lead-in to my story on the Patriots' 67-61 win over Cardinal O'Hara Monday.

But all the press is deserved. The senior forward, pictured, has been a steadying force for Carroll, which at times has lost both its point guard (Lamar Jackson) and its sixth man/role player (Andre Wilburn) to injury. Festus leads the Patriots in scoring, tallying 14.5 ppg.

Festus told me Monday that he's narrowed his college choices to Clemson and St. Francis (Pa.) While it seems odd that a player would be in limbo between an ACC team and one from the lesser-known Northeast Conference, it makes sense. Festus has a confirmed scholarship offer from St. Francis and is waiting to hear from Clemson, whose campus he intends to visit in the near future. He's simply playing all his cards.

As for today's games, there's a full Del Val League slate...so take your pick. Mine, of course, would be Chester/Penn Wood, 7:30 p.m. (There's plenty at stake there.) Monsignor Bonner plays The Prep in the only Catholic League game, and Garnet Valley has a nonleague affair at Kennett.

Also, be sure to check out the latest boys basketball standings of every Delaware County team - published only in the Daily Times.

Any boxing fans out there? You know those long, drawn-out heavyweight bouts in which every round gets more intense than the next? We're going to see some parallels between those fights and the fights for first place in the next couple weeks.

Take a look at the top two teams in each Delaware County league and the late-season matchups that will have postseason implications:

DEL VAL LEAGUE
1. Chester 16-1, 6-0
2. Penn Wood 14-4, 5-1
The Clippers beat the Patriots by 36 points on Dec. 11, but they square off Tuesday with first place on the line.

CENTRAL LEAGUE
1. Lower Merion 14-4, 11-2
2. Ridley 16-3, 11-2
The Aces hold the tiebreaker, having beaten the Green Raiders, 47-44, on Jan. 8. They play again at Villanova on Feb. 2.

CATHOLIC LEAGUE SOUTH
1. Roman Catholic 10-2, 7-0
2. Monsignor Bonner 13-4, 5-2
The Friars have a chance for revenge on Feb. 5, when they will play the Cahillites at their cramped gym in North Philadelphia.

INTER-AC
1. Germantown Academy 12-7, 4-0
2. Chestnut Hill 14-5, 3-1

OTHER SCHOOLS
Christian Academy 12-8
Delco Christian 9-6
Garnet Valley 9-7

For complete league standings, be sure to pick up Tuesday's edition of the Daily Times.

I had the night off Saturday, but I took a glance at the results from the games and here are my observations:

Chester taken to the wire. The Clippers nearly lost their second game of the season, but held off Mt. Verdi (Fla.), 63-61, in a tournament at Springfield, Mass. Karon Burton scored 23 points to help keep Chester (16-1) a one-loss team.
Chichester more than doubles up TCA. The Eagles knocked off the Crusaders, 84-41, behind strong play from the Chichester bench. Kudos to the reserves.
A nonleague scoring frenzy. Garnet Valley took Academy Park to the wire, but eventually lost to the Knights in a 70-64 free-for-all. AP's Anthony King scored 20 points, and Garnet Valley's Tim Lang led all scorers with 22 points.

Interestingly, I have tomorrow night off too. (It's rare journalists get to enjoy the 'traditional' weekend off.) So more observations to come tomorrow, as well the updated standings for all of the county's boys basketball teams.

Scoring 20 points per game is not enough to make Marple Newtown sophomore Soutiri Sapnas smile. Sapnas is pretty darn competitive and wants to win.

His performance Friday night in a 61-58 loss to Upper Darby proved the fact that he does not like losing. After the game, Sapnas overlooked his own 32-point effort and instead chose to focus on improving the Tigers' chances of winning.

"Yeah it's great to lead the team (in scoring), but I'd rather do it in a win," said Sapnas, who scored a career-high 34 points last month against Friends Central. "We're staying in games and cutting down leads but we can't get it all together. ...We're close."

Sapnas is the only sophomore among the county's top 25 scorers, ranking fifth with a per-game average of 20.2 points. For more on Sapnas, read a profile story on him from earlier in the season.

And for more on Upper Darby's win Friday over Marple Newtown, pick up today's Daily Times.

On another note, basketball fans can rejoice! Eight games, including a nearly-full Del Val League slate, will be played Saturday -- including Karon Burton (pictured above) and Chester. What's my pick for game of the day? Garnet Valley at Academy Park, 3 p.m. GV's Tim Lang and J.J. Rapczynski are a fun duo to watch.

There's an assortment of topics covered in this week's boys basketball notebook, so be sure to pick up a copy of today's Daily Times:

• A feature story on Penn Wood and the junior with the hot hand, Duane Johnson.
• An update on Chester's national ranking.
• A piece on Delco Christian's top two scorers, Jake Godino and Jon DeShields, who have been scoring in bunches lately.
• Something on the three seniors (Michael Barrett, Dave Kerzner and Seth Cartmell) keeping Interboro afloat during a rough season.
• A recruiting item on Glen Mills junior Aaric Murray.
• Games of the week, the Super 7 and so on.

Every week, I pick the three biggest games of the week. If there's a game coming up that I should have my eye on, let me know. I always take reader feedback and suggestions.

I have two theories as to why zero boys basketball games were played this evening: Either someone went around to each school and broke every last backboard in the county, or someone balked in the scheduling process.

Conspiracies aside, I've decided to post the county basketball standings. This is going to become a regular feature of Gettin' Schooled. The standings will appear every Monday in the print edition of the Daily Times and once a week in digital form.

But be warned: With no games tonight, this will be the first and only time the standings will be as up to date as physically possible. So soak it in now, basketball fans, and take a look to see where your team stands:

DEL VAL LEAGUE
Chester 15-1, 6-0
Penn Wood 13-4, 4-1
Academy Park 9-9, 4-1
Glen Mills 10-6, 3-2
Chichester 8-9, 3-3
Interboro 4-12, 1-4
Harriton 6-10, 0-5
Sun Valley 1-17, 0-5

CENTRAL LEAGUE
Ridley 15-3, 10-2
Conestoga 14-3, 10-2
Lower Merion 12-4, 9-2
Haverford 10-7, 7-5
Upper Darby 8-10, 6-6
Strath Haven 7-9, 5-6
Marple Newtown 8-11, 5-7
Penncrest 6-11, 5-8
Radnor 4-12, 2-10
Springfield 3-13, 1-10

CATHOLIC LEAGUE SOUTH
Roman Catholic 9-2, 6-0
Monsignor Bonner 12-4, 4-2
Neumann-Goretti 9-6, 4-2
Archbishop Carroll 9-7, 3-3
St. Joe's Prep 9-7, 3-3
West Catholic 11-5, 2-4
Cardinal O'Hara 8-8, 2-4
Kennedy-Kenrick 3-13, 0-6

INTER-AC
Germantown Academy 11-7, 3-0
Chestnut Hill 14-5, 3-1
Penn Charter 3-12, 2-1
Malvern Prep 9-7, 1-2
Episcopal Academy 9-7, 1-2
Haverford School 7-11, 0-4

OTHER SCHOOLS
Christian Academy 11-8
Delco Christian 9-6
Garnet Valley 9-6

On Tuesday night, all four Del Val League games charged an extra dollar at the door to benefit Coaches vs. Cancer. As signs of their support, the coaching staffs from Chester and Glen Mills donned C vs. C T-shirts during a 92-49 win for the Clippers.

"Cancer is a very serious matter, and it's something that has affected everyone in this gym," Chester coach Fred Pickett said to the crowd before the game.

Among those in the gym were several prominent Division I coaches. Big 5 representatives Jay Wright of Villanova and Fran Dunphy of Temple, big-time supporters of Coaches vs. Cancer, were on hand. But they were also there to do some scouting, as were Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon and a representative from West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins' staff.

Be sure to check out my boys basketball notebook, which runs every Friday in the Daily Times for more on the recruiting front.

Last night's Monsignor Bonner-Cardinal O'Hara game was a doozy. If a tight, 46-41 game wasn't enough for you, perhaps some physical play on the low post did the trick.

Fans at the packed house at O'Hara saw two of the Catholic League's underappreciated big men do battle - Bonner's Lijah Thompson and O'Hara's Mark Wedderburn. Thompson (pictured, No. 42) said he enjoyed the physicality of Wedderburn, a football commit to Penn State.

"It was a test going against him. Always is," said Thompson, who had 11 points. "I don't get the chance to play like that everyday, so I liked it."

On another note, Bonner coach Brian Daly and Saint Joseph's University coach Phil Martelli were seen chatting on the court following last night's game. Could a Friar be headed to Hawk Hill? Only time will tell, I guess.

For more on last night's game, pick up today's Daily Times.
Chris

I got word last night that American Christian star guard Tyreke Evans was hospitalized Saturday with a concussion, an injury suffered during his Eagles' 80-56 win in a tournament in Norfolk, Va.

Evans struck his head on the hardwood at Old Dominion University while trying to block a shot against Norfolk (Va.) Collegiate. According to his coach Tony Bergeron, Evans was unconscious for a brief period, but was answering basic questions following his injury.

Rivals ranks Evans, a Chester resident, as the sixth-best recruit in the Class of 2008. He's the second-best recruit who is yet to sign. Once considering Connecticut and Texas, Evans is believed to have trimmed his list of potential schools to three choices: Villanova, Memphis and Louisville.

For more on Evans' injury, pick up a copy of today's Daily Times.

Hey! And welcome to Gettin' Schooled, a high school sports blog hosted by me - Chris Vito.

I'm the resident boys basketball reporter at the Daily Times, but I look forward to covering a wide range of high school sports and entertaining your questions about those very sports.

Don't worry about sharpening pencils and remembering your notebook. We're going to keep things informal on here. But please remember to stop back daily because we'll be covering matters like:

Word from the street. Between assignments, we reporters don't sit idle. We work. We ask questions. And the answers I get to those questions will find their way onto here.

Weekly polls. This blog isn't just about me. It's about you - the reader. So I welcome feedback. And if I pose a question to you, let me know what's on your mind.

Links and much more. If I find something out there on the Web that pertains to high school sports in our neck of the woods, you'll be the first to know.

I look forward to cultivating ideas, covering topics you're interested in and keeping you entertained. Be sure to stop back daily for fresh content on Gettin' Schooled.

Chris