When Bob Ruoff takes calls from the media, it's usually to address one of three things:
1. The playoffs are around the corner.
2. Some news story recently broke.
3. He's asked to answer a variety of questions from an inquisitive reporter.

Tuesday, I fell into the third category. The District One Executive Secretary, Ruoff is a great resource in the Southeastern Pennsylvania high school sports scene. He was there for me last season, when snow canceled the Class AAAA boys basketball semifinals. He was there when I wrote about baseball pitchers taking line drives to the face.

And he was there for me Tuesday.

Daily Times: District One Class AAAA is getting another seed - its ninth - into the PIAA playoffs this March. How will it be determined which team goes?
Bob Ruoff: The eight teams that win their second-round games will make the state field and the ninth will be determined in an eight-team playoff between the teams that lost in the second round. The one that wins those three games gets the ninth (seed).

DT: Doesn't it seem funny that the eighth seed heads to states on a three-game losing streak but the ninth seed is on a three-game winning streak?
BR: I know. Who the heck wanted this ninth seed anyway? But if one team more than usual can go to states, that's what the whole thing is all about.

DT: Determining district-playoff seeding is based on a computerized system. Any chance I can get a look at where the teams are before they're announced Feb. 8?
BR: We can't do that.

DT: What do you mean?
BR: Well, (boys) basketball is not as easy as football, which has weekly power rankings on the Web site. We're constantly trying to get those scores. (With) football, it's once a week and you can get scores around the state. (With) basketball, you're trying like gangbusters to figure out what Conestoga did in a tournament in California. When we come out of the meeting at Council Rock-South that Sunday (Feb. 8), everyone will know.

DT: There's more to it than that, though.
BR: The whole thing is computerized, but those last seeds, things can be changed. People bring schedules from every team and their league and we compute it right away. When we leave there, we say to everyone, "Is everybody OK with is?" And that's it.

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Pick up a copy of Wednesday's Daily Times for a feature story on Tom Brennan. The 6-3, 195-pound senior forward at Sun Valley is playing like normal - he's averaging 23 ppg this season, just like he did a year ago - but the Vanguards can't seem to find their way.