Each day leading up to the state playoffs, I'll shed light on a Delaware County team's first-round opponent in this weekend's PIAA Class AAAA playoffs. Here's the second installment:

The Elizabethtown Bears (17-12), seeded third out of District Three, will tip off against Penn Wood (21-8) Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Spring-Ford High School, located in Royersford.

The Bears...

• have made history this year, making their first state-playoff appearance in school history. And remarkably, the school's been around for close to a century.
• have pulled a complete 180. They posted a 4-19 record last season and appeared to be headed toward another postseason-less year... before winning 12 of their final 14 games to make states in coach Kevin Dolan's first season at the helm.
• are playing strong behind junior forward Chad Styre (pictured), who's had the hot hand in the playoffs.
• should match up well with Penn Wood. Both teams lack a dominant big man in the middle, though E-Town's Nate Koach (13 points, 9 rebs.) is a force.
• need a pick-me-up. Think Penn Wood has had it bad, playing Chester three times? E-Town heads into Saturday after getting ambushed by Reading, which enters the state tournament unbeaten at 30-0.

For more on the Elizabethtown-Penn Wood matchup, take a look at today's Daily Times for a feature story on the Patriots' historical run this season. And check out Saturday's Daily Times for a complete preview of the game.

The Central and Del Val leagues announced their all-league honors Wednesday. Here's the rundown of the first-team nominees for each league:

IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUE...
Co-champions Lower Merion and Ridley were rewarded with two representatives each on the first team. For the Aces, Greg Robbins and Carl Johnson were honored, as were Steve Egee and Dan Robinson (named the league's most valuable player) for the Green Raiders.

Rounding out the Central League's First Team are Soutiri Sapnas of Marple Newtown and Jake Cohen of Conestoga.

IN THE DEL VAL LEAGUE...
PIAA Class AAAA tournament qualifiers Chester and Penn Wood each garnered two first-team nominations. The Clippers' Nasir Robinson and Karon Burton (pictured) got the nod, as did Duane Johnson and Tyree Johnson for the Patriots.

Also earning top honors in the league were Glen Mills' Aaric Murray and Academy Park's Anthony King.

Each day leading up to the state playoffs, I'll shed light on a Delaware County team's first-round opponent in this weekend's PIAA Class AAAA playoffs. Here's the first installment:

The Williamsport Millionaires (19-7), the No. 2 seed from District 2, play Chester (28-1) Saturday at Norristown High School at 2 p.m.

The Millionaires...

• are young. They employ an all-junior starting five.
• are disciplined. They commit only six turnovers per game.
• are green. They are making their first state playoff appearance since their 23-7 season in 2002.
• are small. Among their starting five and top reserves, no one is taller than 6-foot-4.
• have history on their side. They have won two state championships in their school history.
• spread the ball. Each of their starters scores at least eight points per game, led by Isaiah Twine's 15 and Jadiah Lynch's 14.5 averages.
• shoot the 3. Sean Ruaine leads the team with 70 treys this season.

For more on the Williamsport-Chester matchup and all of the PIAA Class AAAA first-round previews, check out Saturday's Daily Times. And stay close to the blog all week for more previews like this one.

American Christian guard Tyreke Evans made an official visit last weekend to Memphis, one of six schools vying for the 6-foot-6 star guard. And according to a source close to the situation, The Daily Times has learned Evans did not commit to the school before returning home.

Evans was on Memphis' campus for the highly-anticipated matchup between the No. 1 Tigers and No. 2 Tennessee. Memphis' perfect season ended in a 66-62 loss to the Volunteers.

Recently named a McDonald's All-American, Evans is kicking around offers from five other schools - Connecticut, Louisville, Seton Hall, Texas and Villanova. Evans averages more than 33 points per game for the Eagles.

BIG 5 COACH SIGHTINGS
The District One Class AAAA championship game drew a sell-out crowd, with two of the seats at Villanova's Pavilion Sunday were occupied by Big 5 coaches. Temple's Fran Dunphy and Villanova's Jay Wright were on hand for the 61-47 Chester win. It is believed that both coaches are courting a Chester player, as they have been seen at a number of the Clippers' games throughout this season.

The Chester Clippers successfully defended their string of District One Class AAAA championships Sunday to take home their seventh in a row.

The Clippers (28-1) handed Norristown (28-1) its first loss of the season in a 61-47 decision at Villanova's Pavilion.

Karon Burton finished with team highs of 20 points and 7 assists while Nasir Robinson (pictured) had 18 points and 12 rebounds. The senior duo connected on three alley-oop dunks in the win.

In the PIAA Class AAAA state playoff bracket, Chester will take on Williamsport (19-8), the second seed out of District Two, in the first round. That game will be played next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Norristown High School.

FOR MORE ON THE GAME...
...pick up a copy of Monday's Daily Times. Included will be a game story; a sidebar on Burton's rebound from a sloppy first quarter; a column by Terry Toohey on Chester coach Fred Pickett; and another sidebar by Chuck Smith on Norristown's take on the Clippers.

The PIAA Class AAAA state playoff bracket won't be announced until midweek, but we already have an idea who three Delaware County teams will be playing:

Penn Wood (District One - 4th seed) vs.
Elizabethtown (District Three - 4th seed)
Ridley (District One - 7th seed) vs.
Communications Tech / Frankford (District 12 - 1st seed)

Who will Chester play? That will be decided this afternoon at Villanova in the District One Class AAAA championship game. If the Clippers win the district, they will play the District Two second seed Williamsport. If they lose to Norristown today, the Clippers will play the District 12 fourth seed, which has yet to be determined. Check back to the blog for the latest.

I'll be the first to tell you all that I love my job - I really do. Covering games, meeting new people daily and telling their stories is like nothing else.

But I can't be everywhere.

So here's my pitch: if you're a player and you're headed to college to play basketball, let me know. And I'll reciprocate with some much-deserved coverage. This goes for coaches and parents, too, or simply anyone who can confirm a student-athlete's commitment to a school (Division I, II, III or otherwise).

I'd like to think I have a good relationship with most - if not all - of the coaches in Delaware County. But in case something slips by me or the coaches (Hey, we're all busy. It can happen), just drop me a line either through e-mail or right here on the blog. And I'll make sure that player gets some ink ASAP.

IN PLAYOFF NEWS
The District One Class AAAA championship might have been pushed back to Sunday, but there are some good games out there today. Here are my must-see tilts.

• AAAA: Ridley vs. Souderton, 1 p.m., at Plymouth Whitemarsh. Going into states on a winning note will be on Ridley's mind.
• AAAA: Penn Wood vs. Pennsbury, 1 p.m., at Norristown. The third seed in states is on the line.
• AAA: Holy Ghost Prep vs. Upper Moreland, 1 p.m., at William Tennent. Gotta pull for HGP, my alma mater, in this one. Winner gets a berth in the state bracket.

I spoke this morning with Chester coach Fred Pickett, who confirmed that tonight's District One Class AAAA championship game is postponed due to inclement weather.

The game - between No. 1 Chester and No. 2 Norristown - will be played Sunday at 4 p.m. at Villanova's Pavilion.

The area's snowfall coupled with the forecast of an ice storm to follow caused the cancelation of classes at Chester and Norristown, which forced the postponement of tonight's game.

Local basketball fans hoping to see Chester further its District One dominance, you better keep your fingers crossed and hope we don't see any snow plows.

I spoke with District One chairman Bob Ruoff, who assured me postponing Friday's district title game would only cause more headaches. Here's how everything at Villanova's Pavilion shakes out should Friday's game get moved back:

• Saturday won't work. Five district title games are already scheduled.
• Sunday is the most viable option. Christian schools could object, however.
• Monday is out of the question. A Villanova-Marquette game at the Wachovia Center limits the game crew at the Pavilion.
• Tuesday is even worse. Night school classes limit available security and parking spots.

With the state playoffs beginning a week from today, Ruoff said something's got to give. "We could always let them play Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, or something like that," he said. "While the rest of the state would be filling in their district's blanks on the state bracket, we would just have to do that later on." We should have a decision on tonight's games by 12 noon Friday. So, like I said, keep your fingers crossed.

MORE ON CHESTER/NORRISTOWN
Pick up a copy of Friday's Daily Times for all the details about the game tonight (or tomorrow ... or the next day). Among the stuff you'll find inside: a feature story previewing the game, a capsule running down the ins and outs of both teams and the probable starting lineups.

And then there were three.

A field of 17 Delaware County teams to make the postseason has narrowed to just three after the elimination of two local teams on Wednesday.

Class A Delco Christian lost in the district semifinals. Offering up the quote of the night was Knights senior Jake Godino, who was truly hurt by his team's loss: "I don’t know what happened," Godino said. "A loss is a loss … and we worked hard. But things didn’t work out for us."

And Jamal Melvin (pictured) and Monsignor Bonner dropped a heartbreaker in the Catholic League semifinals. The Friars tied the game with five seconds remaining, but subsequently fouled an Archbishop Ryan player with 0.8 ticks left. A la Villanova / Georgetown, this one was decided at the free-throw line.

Only three Delco teams are still playing this season: Chester will tipoff Friday with a district championship on the line; and Penn Wood and Ridley are in Class AAAA's play-back games before heading to states. As for Ridley, the Green Raiders' loss Wednesday means they can attain no higher than District One's seventh seed in states.

EVANS NETS HONOR
McDonald's All-American team was announced Wednesday, and star guard Tyreke Evans of American Christian made the cut. The two-time All-Delco averages 33.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 4.3 steals for the Eagles (26-4).

There were plenty of juicy subplots to watch for in Tuesday's District One Class AAAA semifinal between Chester and Penn Wood:

• Would the underclassmen of PW usurp the senior-laden Clippers?
• Would Chester sweep a three-game set with the Patriots?
• Would their familiarity play into the game's outcome?

In the end, none of that really mattered. It was simply a case of Chester being Chester in a 74-52 win at Norristown High School. Nasir Robinson and Karon Burton (pictured) were big as usual in the win.

Check out my game story as well as a column by Jack McCaffery on the head-scratching of Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones that went into preparing for Chester.

With the win, that makes 35 straight victories for Chester in the district tournament, which matches Lower Merion's 35 from 1930-46. The Clippers have won 35 in a row from 2002 to the present, while the Aces reeled off that many in a time when the district tournament was only three rounds.

***In other boys basketball news, Wednesday's Daily Times includes a profile story on Delco Christian's Jake Godino and Jon DeShields --- two great kids with great back stories who are leading the Knights into an all-important playoff game tonight. Check it out.

The Central League has "set the standard for District One" by collecting more than $17,000 this season for Coaches vs. Cancer, according to charity spokesman Bill Campo.

Campo sent an e-mail to the league's coaches and administrators to announce that collective fundraisers generated $17,300, a record for a high school sports league. Just how big was this year's tally? "Last year, the Central League might have raised $8,000, and that was considered a great accomplishment," Campo said by telephone Monday.

Credit for the more-than 100 percent jump from 2007 to 2008, Campo said, is due to the league's relationship with its referees.

"The fact that game referees donate their checks is something that isn't as common," Campo said. "That's $65 per referee and $130 per game that we wouldn't have had donated."

ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER
The one and only playoff game of local interest tonight is No. 5 Penn Wood vs. No. 1 Chester in the District One Class AAAA semifinals. The game is set for 7:30 p.m. at Norristown High School. Here's a breakdown of the two regular-season meetings between these Del Val League foes:

• Dec. 11 - Chester 76, Penn Wood 40: Both teams entered the game unbeaten, but the Clippers (4-0) blew past the Patriots (5-1) in the league opener for both squads. Despite the big offensive showing, the Clippers' leading scorer Nasir Robinson scored just 14 points.
• Jan. 22 - Chester 82, Penn Wood 70: Between games, the Patriots narrowed the gap and played to the slimmest margin of any of the Clippers' league games. Chester's Kevin Green Germany scored 27 points and Penn Wood's Duane Johnson countered with 29.

A combination of injury and family reasons kept American Christian star Tyreke Evans from suiting up in the Neutral Zone Hoops Showcase in Kentucky, according to a report in the Louisville Courier-Journal.

American Christian coach Tony Bergeron told the C-J that Evans, one of the most highly-recruited seniors in the nation, sustained an unspecified injury in the Primetime Shootout two weekends ago. Additionally, the Evans' family suffered the loss of two family members in recent weeks.

American Christian lost an 82-77 decision to Findlay Prep (Nev.) in the national invitational tournament. The Eagles had been 6-0 prior to Saturday when playing without Evans in the lineup.

IN NATIONAL NEWS:
It appears the longtime coach of a St. Louis-based high school paid for the housing, food and clothing of two star players who led the city's Vashon High School to several state championships in one of the most elaborate recruiting scandals this reporter's ever heard of.

Allegedly, Floyd Irons put up more than $25,000 to bring the ineligible student-athletes to the school in exchange for their participation in games. All of this was released in a 193-page report of a meeting between Irons and the Missouri State High School Activities Association.

IN LOCAL NEWS:
Dates and times of playoff games featuring area teams are set:

• Class A: No. 5 Delco Christian/No. 1 Faith Christian, Wednesday, 6 p.m., at William Tennent High School
• Class AAAA: No. 5 Penn Wood/No. 1 Chester, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., at Norristown High School
• Class AAAA: No. 6 Ridley/No. 7 Downingtown West, Wednesday, 7 p.m., at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School

It appears recruiting services are making their marks on youth basketball players earlier and earlier these days.

The Dallas Morning News reports today that, according to recruiting service HoopScoop.com, some of the nation's top elementary school basketball players hail from Texas. My question is this: When did recruiting services begin rating kids before reaching high school?

Then I remembered how Sebastian Telfair (pictured) was heralded among national media only years ago. He was ranked among the nation's top fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders before heading to Brooklyn's Lincoln High. In the end, he's a middle-of-the road NBA player averaging 7.5 points per game.

So is all the attention necessary? Does it set the bar too high? Does it only set these kids up for failure and missed expectations? I welcome your thoughts.

In Saturday's playoff games:
I was at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School Saturday, where Radnor's season came to an end. The Red Raiders weren't alone. Also in the District One Class AAA tournament, Springfield's season concluded in defeat.

Elsewhere, Monsignor Bonner and Delco Christian advanced to the second rounds of their respective tournaments. The Friars knocked off Neumann-Goretti in the Catholic League playoffs, while the Knights took down Renaissance Academy in the District One Class A tourney. Check out Matt Smith's report on the Radnor/Holy Ghost game and Terry Toohey's account from the Delco Christian game.

Had you told Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones three months ago that his team would be in the District One Class AAAA semifinals, he might have had his doubts.

Conceivably, it was possible. Coming off a 12-13 year and a No. 28 seed in the district in 2006-07, it was almost unlikely. But after beating Souderton Friday, the Patriots are now set up for a colossal matchup with a familiar foe from the Del Val League - Chester - in the semifinals next week.

In other local quarterfinal games of interest:

• Council Rock South didn't even give Chester a good contest. With four scorers in double figures, the Clippers won their 34th straight district tournament game.
• Pennsbury was just too much for Ridley, which hit a game-long cold spell and couldn't recover. Highly-recruited guard Dalton Pepper stole the game for Pennsbury.

Make sure you pick up a copy of today's Daily Times for preview capsules of today's four games: Monsignor Bonner in the Catholic League playoffs; Radnor and Springfield in the Class AAA tournament; and Delco Christian in its Class A opener.

Since I was out at Wissahickon covering Ridley/Pennsbury Friday, I also chipped in on a girls basketball playoff game being played there before the nightcap. In Class A, Sacred Heart moved on with a huge win. Be sure to check it out.

Marple Newtown's Soutiri Sapnas brought to an end his incredible sophomore season with a record.

His Tigers fell in the first round of the District One Class AAA tournament, 65-55, but Sapnas became the single-season scoring champ in Marple Newtown history. Sapnas' 527 points in 25 games surpassed the 521 in 26 games posted by Greg Bishop.

Sapnas (pictured) has two seasons left at Marple Newtown and is sure to break even more records in his high school career.

All-Catholic Teams Announced: Six players from Delaware County schools were named to this year’s All-Catholic League Southern Division teams, which were announced Wednesday.

The only area player named to the First Team was Monsignor Bonner’s Lijah Thompson. The 6-7 junior forward averages 14 points per game for the Friars. He also leads the team in rebounds and blocked shots.

Bonner’s Jamal Melvin and Archbishop Carroll’s Kasheef Festus made the division’s Second Team. Selected to the Third Team were Carroll’s D.J. Irving and Ellis Rogers and Cardinal O’Hara’s Zach Tansey. Kudos to those guys.

Additional basketball coverage: Check out preview capsules for tonight's games and a feature story on Chester's Kevin Green-Germany, who has emerged as a consistent 3-point threat for the Clippers.

The Springfield Cougars have won six games this season. Fortunately for them, three of them have come in a row, ever since taking a 3-19 mark into the final week of the season.

Coach Kevin McCormick's crew is headed to the district quarterfinals, where they will play No. 3 Great Valley. Three weeks ago, I'm not sure anyone would have believed this possible, but hand it to the Cougars - they're playing their best ball right now.

MAKE-UPS ON TAP: Two Class AAA games, originally scheduled for Wednesday, will be played today. No. 9 Harriton is at No. 8 Marple Newtown, and No. 10 Radnor is at No. 7 Phoenixville.

THREE TEAMS MAKE STATES: In Class AAAA, three teams are moving onto states after posting second-round wins. No. 1 Chester, forward Shawn Oakman (pictured) and No. 5 Penn Wood and No. 6 Ridley have picked up berths in the PIAA playoff bracket. From here on out, each of District One's eight state-bound teams will play three games for seeding purposes. The sad reality? One of those eight teams will lose three straight games in February and still make the state tournament.

ALL-DELCO UPDATE: I'm enjoying the feedback from my open-door policy with All-Delco selections. Like I've said, I'll never close my ears to a fan's pitch for a player (or two). Plus I welcome the message board-style posting you - the readers - have made possible. Keep it up. And, for clarity's sake, the team has six players: Player of the Year and the top five players assigned by position. So using those guidelines, get in your suggestions.

TEAM COVERAGE: If you're a boys basketball fan in Delaware County, pick up a copy of today's Daily Times. You'll definitely be getting your money's worth. Villanova beat writer Terry Toohey was at Ridley, Eagles beat writer Bob Grotz covered the Catholic League play-in game, I was at Chester and we had a write-up on Glen Mills.

I've been in the office for only a couple minutes but here's what I've learned concerning tonight's area basketball games:

• POSTPONED: Class AAA - Harriton at Marple Newtown. Snow caused the cancellation of classes today leading to tonight's postponement. The game will be played Thursday.
• ANNOUNCED: Class A - The eight-team Class A bracket will be announced Thursday, and I'm hearing that Delco Christian could be seeded among the top 4. Stay tuned.
• STILL ON: Class AAAA - Central Bucks West at Ridley. Despite popular belief (and the district Web site, which says the game is Thursday), this one will be played tonight. Ridley coach Keith Heinerichs assures me of it.

More to come in playoff hoops tonight and tomorrow. Stick to the blog.

I placed a call into the District One offices, which confirmed the inevitable: four of five games in the Class AAAA playoffs have been pushed back from tonight to Wednesday night because of the snow.

Granted, we didn't get as much snow as the poor folks in Buffalo (pictured) have had this winter. But here's a tentative schedule for Wednesday's games:

• Perkiomen Valley at Chester, 7 p.m.
• Glen Mills at Norristown, 7 p.m.
• Council Rock South at Lower Merion, TBA
• Central Bucks West at Ridley, TBA

As for tonight's games: I called Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones, a couple time and he has confirmed that Cheltenham at Penn Wood is on.

Here's what this does for Wednesday: it makes for a loaded slate for Delaware County teams. To be played are the aforementioned four AAAA games; three AAA first-round games; and a Catholic League play-in game. Basketball fans, ready the napkins. I'm sure your salivating already.

This is one of the best times of the year: the playoffs have just begun, and soon enough it'll be time to name the All-Delco Team. This is where you, the reader, enter into the equation.

I have a general idea of who will make this year's All-Delco Team, but I'd like your thoughts on the matter. As the Daily Times continues ushering in the digital age of journalism, I've opted to use my blog as a medium for such a task. Either leave a comment on the blog or e-mail me who you think should make the team and why. My only request is that your responses be clear, concise and clean (no trash-talking on other players or foul language, please). I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Now back to the playoffs.

The results are in: two Delaware County schools are in the Catholic League playoffs. Well, sort of. Monsignor Bonner picked up the Southern Division's third seed by posting a 9-5 league record. The Friars will play No. 2 Neumann-Goretti on Saturday.

Archbishop Carroll and Saint Joseph's Prep will partake in a play-in game Wednesday for the fourth and final Southern Division seed. Both teams finished at 8-6 in league play. The Catholic League playoffs begin next weekend. The Patriots and the Hawks will play at Cardinal O'Hara Wednesday at 7 p.m. for the right to advance.

The Catholic League playoffs are right around the corner, and two Delaware County teams are on the cusp of getting in. Four teams from each division earn berths. Here's how the Southern Division breaks down, with Sunday's regular-season finales factoring in:

Team (League record) ....... Remaining game
Roman Catholic (13-0) ............... vs. Cardinal O'Hara
Neumann-Goretti (9-4) ............ vs. Saint Joseph's Prep
Monsignor Bonner (8-5) ........... vs. Kennedy-Kenrick
Saint Joseph's Prep (8-5) ......... vs. Neumann-Goretti
Archbishop Carroll (7-6) .......... vs. West Catholic

In other local basketball news:
Academy Park Anthony King is close to giving his commitment to play at Division II Bloomsburg, the senior said following the Knights' loss to Lower Merion in the first round of the District One Class AAAA tournament. King has yet to commit but hasn't gotten a solid scholarship offer from Penn State, which had sent several letters declaring its interest in the power forward. I'll keep you posted.

The opening round of the District One Class AAAA playoffs is through and the field of 11 Delaware County teams has narrowed to five, which will play second-round games on Wednesday:

Three of the advancing teams were from the Del Val League. Click the link for a recap.
No. 1 Chester took down No. 32 Methacton in a game that wasn't as close as the final score, 68-56, would indicate.
No. 5 Penn Wood, led by junior guard Duane Johnson (pictured), beat No. 28 Central Bucks South 55-42.
No. 18 Glen Mills needed the final seconds (and a couple free throws) to secure a win over No. 15 Plymouth Whitemarsh.

Two teams from the Central League kept their seasons alive. Click the link for a recap.
No. 6 Ridley routed No. 27 Owen J. Roberts, 69-43.
No. 8 Lower Merion handled No. 25 Academy Park, 91-58. But the game was more about coach Rick Pergolini's return to the Knights' bench than a playoff win. Pergolini said he is days away from a full comeback, which would include returning to his guidance counselor role at the school. Click the link above for a full story on the game.

Ushering in the playoffs is like celebrating two birthdays in the same year. It's that much fun. I'm sure there are plenty of over-prepared coaches, nervous parents and anxious players who'd contest that statement.

The District One Class AAAA playoffs begin tonight, with nine Delaware County teams trying to keep their seasons alive. For a full schedule of the games, check out the print edition of the Daily Times. I'll be at the Lower Merion/Academy Park game, so pick up Saturday's paper for more on that.

In terms of playoff previews, I wrote one for each of tonight's games in addition to a feature on Ridley senior Dan Robinson, who carries the offensive load for the Green Raiders. There's also a story recapping readers on the District One Class AAA playoff field, which was announced Thursday.

Enjoy tonight's games. It's the time of year for good basketball.

The 12-team field for next week's District One Class AAA bracket was announced Thursday morning, and three Delaware County teams made the cut:

No. 8 Marple Newtown (9-15) vs. No. 9 Harriton (7-17)
No. 10 Radnor (6-18) vs. No. 7 Phoenixville (11-13)
No. 11 Springfield (5-19) vs. No. 6 Upper Perkiomen (16-8)

First-round matchups will be played Wednesday, Feb. 13, with the higher seed hosting. A storyline to follow is with Springfield, which looks to defend its district title. For more on the Class AAA bracket, pick up Friday's Daily Times.

Haverford's Joey Cafferky isn't just a solid scoring option for Fords coach Terry McNichol; he's also a translation machine.

Philadelphia Daily News managing editor Pat McLoone sent out an e-mail last month to a bunch of his friends, including McNichol (who's also his neighbor). McLoone was seeking someone, anyone who could translate a Swedish newspaper story on former NHL star Peter Forsberg.

McNichol put Cafferky, a Swedish exchange student, to the task. Cafferky translated the story, phoned McLoone with his report from the team's bus, then scored 10 points in the Fords' 62-40 win over Radnor Jan. 29. In the journalism business, everyone knows everyone. I once interned at the Daily News (and for McLoone) in the sports department. He's good people, and I'm glad he got the story translated. Kudos to Cafferky, too. What a heck of a story.

The Fords (14-10), the No. 21 seed, will travel to take on No. 12 Cheltenham (17-7) Friday night in the District One Class AAAA playoffs.

Chester senior Russell Johnson participated in practice Tuesday and could be ready for Friday's playoff game, point guard Karon Burton said late Tuesday night.

Johnson, a forward, started all of the Clippers' games this season except the final four. He has been sidelined since twisting his ankle in a pick-up basketball game last month. Burton said Johnson "got some running in" Tuesday. Burton expects Johnson to be ready for Friday's District One Class AAAA first-round game against 32nd-seeded Methacton.

"He suited up for practice and he looked good," Burton said.

IN OTHER NEWS: The seedings for the District One Class AAA tournament will be released Thursday. Four Delco teams are in Class AAA (Marple Newtown, Radnor, Springfield and Sun Valley) so it looks like a few could land a spot in the tournament when the 12-team field is announced.

Also, I wanted to offer belated kudos to the Bucks County Courier Times, which organized a tournament two weeks ago for one of its sportwriters who passed away of cancer in December. The proceeds of the tournament - named the Jason Haslam Classic - benefited cancer research. Jason was one of my friends from Temple University and had a hand in my development in this business. Thanks to the BCCT for getting the tournament off the ground.

I've gotten a couple e-mails from people inquiring into the point system used to seed the PIAA's district tournaments, a system that appears to be as complicated as college football's BCS formula.

On the surface, it looks like each team eligible for the district tournament is graded on three criteria: Wins, Strength of Schedule and what is labeled 'Bonus points'.

Each win over a Class AAAA team garners 5 win points. So for Chester, which won 23 games, the Clippers picked up 115 points. Beating a AAA team counts for 4 points, AA team is 3 points and A is 1 point.

It only gets more complex from there.

Strength of schedule factors into this formula as well. It multiplies the winning percentage of a team's opponents by 5. Again - using Chester as an example - the Clippers played three teams that were nationally ranked at some point. So naturally, they led the field with 76.41 schedule points. The next-closest team was Penn Wood with 69.18.

Bonus points are compiled by multiplying the winning percentage of the opponents a team beat by 12. And a power rating is contrived by adding the three aforementioned criteria together and dividing the sum by the total number of games a team played.

Make sense? It took some research - and the help of Chichester assistant coach Ray Palladino, who chipped in with some e-mail pointers - to figure this all out.

Ridley's Dan Robinson scored the 1,000th point of his career this season, but the record slipped past Ridley team officials and this reporter. (I'm in my first year on the beat, so I'm sure it's just one of those things that got away from me.)

Robinson needed 372 points this year to notch 1,000 for his career. He scored 14 in a 53-43 win over Conestoga on Jan. 18, which put him over the top. For his career, Robinson has 1,112 ... and counting. Robinson's Green Raiders picked up the No. 6 seed in the District One Class AAAA tournament, which begins next weekend.

IN OTHER NEWS: The Daily Times has learned that Chester's Russell Johnson has missed the Clippers' last four games with an ankle sprain suffered in a pick-up basketball game. The status of the senior had not been previously known. He could be ready for the top-ranked Clippers' meeting with 32nd-seeded Methacton Friday in the Class AAAA district tournament.

Chester made it all the way to the PIAA Class AAAA title game last year, before falling to eventual champ Schenley (pictured, courtesy Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).

The road to the state tournament is set, with the District One Class AAAA seedings announced Sunday. Here's where Delco's teams landed. Higher seeds host Friday's games:

1 Chester vs. 32 Methacton
5 Penn Wood vs. 28 Central Bucks South
6 Ridley vs. 27 Owen J. Roberts
8 Lower Merion vs. 25 Academy Park
9 Conestoga vs. 24 Council Rock South
18 Glen Mills vs. 15 Plymouth-Whitemarsh
21 Haverford vs. 12 Cheltenham
23 Garnet Valley vs. 10 Coatesville
26 Upper Darby vs. 7 Downingtown West
30 Chichester vs. 3 Pennsbury

In my last notebook, I projected that as many as eight Delco teams could make the tournament. I'm surprised so many got in, but I'm not complaining. The complexion of the game changes in the playoffs. I'm pumped for Friday.

Just got back in from the Kobe Bryant Classic at Villanova's Pavilion. Here are a couple things I saw that I couldn't fit into my stories:

• The Catholic League playoffs are right around the corner, so a couple role players from Delco's CL teams made sure they got one last look at Roman Catholic. Archbishop Carroll's D.J. Irving and Monsignor Bonner's Lijah Thompson and Henry Smith were on hand to watch the Cahillites.


• American Christian's Tyreke Evans returned to the Pavilion following his afternoon game for one of the nightcaps - Roman vs. Chester. He tried to slip in a back door before a security guard tried to squelch that plan. That is, until she recognized who Evans was. No one likes to give out special treatment. But in this case, the security guard felt she had to oblige.


• Chester's Russell Johnson sat out the Clippers' 83-73 win over Roman Catholic. Johnson was dressed in street clothes on the Chester bench for Friday's game, too. His status was not immediately known.


• Congrats to Conestoga and Ridley, which clinched a co-championship in the Central League with wins Saturday. Both teams will enter the District One Class AAAA tournament with identical 20-4, 15-3 records.

I feel pretty lucky. It's not often that in a 24-hour period you get to see the nation's top football recruit and boys and girls basketball recruits. But that's what the Primetime Shootout and the Kobe Bryant Classic have provided me.

I just watched Elena Delle Donne (a Connecticut commit) and her Ursuline Academy team polish off a 57-44 victory over Germantown Academy at Villanova's Pavilion, where American Christian and Tyreke Evans are warming up to face Academy of the New Church.

And last night right here, I saw Jeannette's Terrelle Pryor, the No. 1 football player in the country, struggle against Chester. It only gets better today, with Ridley and Lower Merion doing battle for the Central League crown.

Be sure to check back to Gettin' Schooled later tonight, when I'll post an update from the Kobe Bryant Classic.

The Primetime Shootout proved to be quite entertaining. In the first night of the four-night, two-weekend extravaganza, there were plenty of reasons for basketball fans to buy a ticket:

1. Jeannette forward Terrelle Pryor (pictured), the No. 1 football recruit in the country, scored 21 points and was named team MVP in their 80-70 loss to Chester.
2. Clippers guard Karon Burton never ceases to amaze me. Fighting the flu last week, he turned in a solid effort. Tonight, he won team MVP with a team-high 32 points.
3. American Christian's Tyreke Evans & Co. traveled from Aston to Villanova, drawing crowds and defensive attention against the formerly-top-ranked St. Benedict's.

For more on the Primetime Shootout, be sure to check out Saturday's Daily Times. Columnist extraordinaire Jack McCaffery and I tag-teamed the event, so pick up a copy today.

American Christian is back in action here Saturday against Academy of the New Church in the Kobe Bryant Classic. Also participating in that event are Lower Merion and Ridley, who go to battle with the Central League title on the line. Hold onto your seats.

The big news Thursday night was Lower Merion getting one step closer toward clinching the regular-season title in the Central League. The Aces' win over Radnor coupled with Haverford completing a season-sweep over Ridley puts Lower Merion in the driver's seat. Lower Merion and Ridley play one another Saturday, which could determine whether the teams share the crown or LM gets it outright.

Of course, there were some other goings-on from the hardwood:

• Springfield, behind 20 points from Lou Meindl, snapped an 11-game losing streak and knocked off Upper Darby.
• Glen Mills took a 30-24 lead against Chester into halftime before the Clippers snapped out of it and stifled the Bulls. The win solidifies a perfect 10-0 season in Del Val League play for Chester.
• Cardinal O'Hara got thumped by Neumann-Goretti, 85-49. If the Lions had any inkling of sneaking into the Catholic League playoffs, that's out the window now.

More to come Friday night, when I'll be blogging live (wireless Internet permitting) from Villanova's Pavilion and the Primetime Shootout. Don't miss it.