The District One boys soccer Classes AAA, AA and A brackets were announced Sunday, and six Delco teams made the cut. Here are the matchups:

Tuesday - Class AAA
24 RADNOR at 9 Pennridge, 7 p.m.
21 PENN WOOD at 12 Neshaminy, 7 p.m.
23 West Chester East at 10 UPPER DARBY, 7 p.m.
27 Cheltenham at 6 STRATH HAVEN, 7 p.m.

Wednesday - Class AA
5 Harriton at 4 SPRINGFIELD, TBD

Wednesday - Class A
8 Plumstead Christian at 1 DELCO CHRISTIAN, 3 p.m.

Keep an eye out for more coverage of the boys soccer playoffs in Monday's edition of the Daily Times.

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.

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.

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.