I just finished talking to Don Hamlin and Kelly Thompson, whose teams arrived during the last game in anticipation of tonight’s Class B semi. Both coaches looked eager to get underway.

Hamlin arrived all dressed up for the Bears first trip to the County Center in five years. The last time they were here he said they pulled off the upset, beating top-seeded Hastings before losing in the final. It’s been 10 years since they won a gold ball.

Hamlin looks like he’s having a good time, carrying his little daughter, Casey, around the court, enjoying some Nathan’s, and talking to everyone he knows. This isn’t a direct quote, but right after the Leake & Watts OT win, he said: “This is awesome. I love this. I told the girls, if you can’t get up to play here, where can you.” That pretty much summed up his mood: a little nervous, a lot anxious to take center stage. There should be a good crowd for it too, as the Briarcliff community has come out in numbers for the boys game (second half kicking off right now vs. Lincoln Hall) wearing Sunkist-colored orange shirts.

After I spoke to Hamlin, I spent some time with Thompson, the Putnam Valley coach. She said the team’s completely healthy and ready to renew what’s been Section 1’s best rivalry this season.

We chatted about Kristi Dini, her former player who is now at my alma mater playing for the Lady Terriers. Dini was on the only other Put Valley girls team to make it to the County Center, when the Tigers, seeded No. 1, lost to Pelham in the semis.

OK, we’re officially counting down. I predict the game will start at 7:34 p.m. See you then…

Hey everyone, looks like the girls action will be pushed back even further. The Class C semifinal between North Salem and Leake & Watts boys just went to overtime.

Poor Leake & Watts. Down the whole game by about 10, they battled back to tie it late and gave themselves a chance to win. After grabbing a rebound with 11 seconds left, they raced up floor, the dribbler drew two defenders and dumped a pass to a wide open kid who missed the easy layup at the buzzer. You hope the guy hits the game-winner.

Anyway, with the game still a few minues from ending, it’ll be at least 5:40 or 5:45 before the Briarcliff boys start. That means you can expect Briarcliff-Put Valley girls around 7:30-7:40, and Haldane-Dobbs a good ways after 9 p.m.

Told you. 1:45 between games is just too short to avoid delays. Everything has to go right to pull it off. Now I’d be surprised if Haldane and Dobbs is over before 11:15.

The blog seems to be running smoother than before, so I should have more updates for you soon.

OK folks, we’re up and running at the County Center, as Championship Week finally kicks off after yesterday’s postponements.

The first game just wrapped up, as the Hawthorne Cedar Knolls boys beat Solomon Schechter 66-61 in the Class D semifinals. Hopefully it’s a sign of good things to come this week.

We’re still about four hours from the start of action on the girls side. Briarcliff and Putnam Valley are scheduled to tip at 7 p.m., although that’s a rather optimistic projection. For instance, we’re already at least 5 or 10 minutes behind schedule. But that is to be expected.

For anyone who ever complains about coverage, I hope this brings an end to that. We already have 12 people hear doing various tasks – video, web stuff, reporting, stat keeping, etc. – but I’ll get to that in a second. If you complain about coverage this week, I think you need to have your head checked.

Now that we’re fully operational, I want you to head over to our new website, “your home for everything Championship Week this week.” Of course, I still want you to swing by here, where I will try to update as often as I can. But over on our new website we’ll have live scoring updates of every game and audio clips of postgame interviews with coaches and players. That’s not all, though. We’ll also have our game stories and columns; daily behind the scenes features, both written and video; game photos; and updated brackets. Please, I urge you to bookmark it and check it regularly.

OK everyone, that’s all for now. Play nice and I’ll be back soon…

I may no longer run a 5:30 mile. And I may have weakened considerably since my younger, more spry days. But after yesterday’s postponement provided me some free time to spend at the gym, I can tell you this: the jumper is still buttery smooth. In fact, if I had the opportunity this week, I’d challenge any of you — Benischek, Yankou, Fleming, Pescetti — to a 3-point contest. So why don’t you KEEP THAT IN MIND this week…

OK, enough trash talking. On to today’s previews. This may be my favorite day all week because of the rivalries. When you read below, note the similarities between the two games. Astounding…

CLASS B SEMIFINALS —
No. 1 Briarcliff (19-2) vs. No. 5 Putnam Valley (15-7)
Where: County Center
When: Tonight, 7 p.m.
Head2Head: Um, have you not been reading? They’ve played twice, with each home team winning. Put Valley won 62-48 on Jan. 9th on the strength of a 42-19 second-half run. Christine Kemp had 23 points and 10 assists. Briarcliff then won 59-45 on Feb. 2nd. Maggie Blair and Taylor Pescetti hit double figures and Jamie Heyda and Shelby Coon each had 10 boards. Kim Kastuk didn’t play for the Tigers.
Key players: BRIARCLIFF — Angela Pescetti and Maggie Blair. They’ll need to handle and distribute the ball with care. PUTNAM VALLEY — Christine Kemp. Section 1’s female wizard must pull off a few more acts of deception.
Key matchup: Shooters vs. County Center. Each team beat the other with superior guard play. Both are at their best when they can score inside and out, but jumpshooting is not easy in this building. If one team can produce from the outside it’ll give it an advantage and playing ahead here will be important.
What you need to know: Emotions will run high here. I know it’s only been two games, but with everything that’s happened between the teams this season — and you know it all — the series seems more like 100 games. Briarcliff has the early edge because it has more size throughout its lineup, but Put Valley can win if it plays well on the perimeter.
Prediction: BRIARCLIFF 66, PUTNAM VALLEY 60. A great game is decided with free throws in the end, as the Tigers are just a few baskets behind from the start.

CLASS C SEMIFINALS —
No. 1 Haldane (16-3) vs. No. 4 Dobbs Ferry (14-7)
Where: County Center
When: Tonight, 8:45 p.m.
Head2Head: Another one where you better know the answer. Much like the other game, each team held serve at home during the regular season. Haldane won 63-45 on Dec. 6th, its season opener, as a Brittany Shields double-double yielded her 1,000th career point. Dobbs then responded on Jan. 16th to win 60-43 for its first win vs. Haldane since 2003-04. Freshman Jackie Giuliano scored 18 points for the Eagles.
Key players: HALDANE — Brittany Shields. For most teams it wouldn’t be the star here, but Shields is different. She’s capable of presenting a significant matchup problem the Eagles won’t be able to overcome. DOBBS FERRY — Carey Hickey. The senior point must dictate the action. She did in the second meeting and walked away with a signature win.
Key matchup: Haldane defense vs. the Haldane defense. The Blue Devils will always score, but they are prone to defensive lapses. First, they must avoid foul trouble. Second, they must show an ability to defend the pick ‘n roll Hickey killed them on last time.
What you need to know: Dobbs senior Lauren Emerson didn’t play in the first meeting. She was out recovering from knee surgery. Emerson can be a difference-maker at her best. Shields, a junior, has already won two Class C tournament MVPs. She and her teammates are in search of Haldane’s 15th consecutive gold ball. The Blue Devils have sent Dobbs home from the playoffs the last three years.
Prediction: HALDANE 64, DOBBS FERRY 60 (OT). The Eagles have a chance to win it in regulation, but the game slips away in overtime thanks to Haldane’s free throw shooting.

OK, OK, I’m not exactly doing that, but I may as well be. This is like waking up Christmas morning to find that Christmas was moved back a day. Not fun.

I guess I should be happy I’m here. Our boys writer, Kevin Devaney, smartly took the opportunity to spend the last few days in Las Vegas with a few friends. “Unfortunately for him, mother nature didn’t agree with the timing of his trip.”:http://kickoff.lohudblogs.com Neither, I’m sure, does his wife. Hopefully Kevin we’ll be back with us in time for tomorrow’s action.

Anyway, here’s what my blog schedule looks like this week. Remember, I will be there all day, every day. I am as available as you want me to be, meaning if you ask me questions and show that you want a lot of updates, I will provide them.

TUESDAY: Morning links; extended previews of Briarcliff-Putnam Valley and Dobbs Ferry-Haldane; periodic updates throughout the day; a recap at night with a star of the day
WEDNESDAY: Morning links; extended previews of Hamilton-Blind Brook and Albertus Magnus-Irvington; updates; a recap and star of the day
THURSDAY: Morning links; extended previews of Mount Vernon-Ursuline and Pearl River-Beacon; updates; a recap and star of the day
FRIDAY: Morning links; extended previews of White Plains-Scarsdale and Lakeland-Ardsley; updates; a recap and star of the day
SATURDAY: Morning links; extended previews of the Class B and C championships, including what I think each team must do to win; updates; a recap and star of the day
SUNDAY: Morning links; extended previews of the Class AA and A championships, including what I think each team must do to win; updates; a recap and star of the day
MONDAY: A look back at the biggest week of the season, including a few of my favorite photos from our photographers

Journal News/LoHud.com high school sports editor Mike Rose, Westchester/Putnam girls basketball beat reporter Josh Thomson and Rockland girls basketball beat reporter Jake Thomases break down “Championship Week” at the Westchester County Center.

[audio:http://lohud.com/audio/podcast/girlspodcast_0226.mp3]

Journal News/LoHud.com sports reporter Jake Thomases interviewed some of the Ursuline players about their trip to the Westchester County Center this week.

[audio:http://lohud.com/audio/podcast/ursalinseniors.mp3]

(EDITED: 12:20 p.m. – Date and time of boys D final is changed.)

The schedule for the first day of basketball action at the County Center has been cancelled due to school closings. The three games originally slated for today will be replayed as follows:

Tuesday:
Class D boys semifinal: Solomon Schechter vs. Hawthorne Cedar Knolls, 1:45 p.m.

Wednesday:
Class C girls semifinal: Hamilton vs. Blind Brook, 3 p.m.
Class C boys semifinal: Hamilton vs. Tuckahoe, 4:45 p.m.

All games that were originally scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday will follow in the same order, approximately 1:45 after the game before it finishes. The only game that was moved was the Class D boys championship game, originally scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. That game will now be played on Thursday at Noon.

We get excited for Championship Week, and then the skies make their plans to open up. But what else is new, right?

“Here is the forecast for White Plains tonight and tomorrow,”:http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=white+plains%2C+ny which calls for 2-4” of snow tonight and another 1-3” tomorrow. As you can see, I grabbed the forecast from weatherunderground.com, a website that is almost never wrong and, unlike weather.com, won’t crash your web browser.

Because of the forecast, I called Bill Glassman, the Section 1 girls hoop coordinator. He told me they are still working on backup plans in case of cancellations tomorrow, but he did tell me this: They will not open the County Center for just one game. So, if Hamilton doesn’t have school tomorrow, there will be no Monday at our favorite Westchester arena. (Hamilton in involved in two of the games.) Also, if any two others are cancelled, there will be no games.

Now, if only one game needs to be cancelled, the other two WILL be played. Check back in tomorrow morning and I’ll tell you the status. Right now, it doesn’t look good.

***************************************************

I have to apologize for Friday, when I failed to update the blog in regard to our catholic and private schools still alive in the playoffs. I was reminded of such by one of the coaches — and rightfully so — because there were several big games on Friday.

First off, “Rye County Day nearly beat St. Luke’s (unbeaten in league play) in the Fairchester League championship before falling 45-44 in OT.”:http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/SPORTS02/702240348/1049 My colleague Justin Jones, the former Nyack baller himself, was theree and provided the details. Sounds like another good game for O-J, one of the better young big girls around.

Secondly, “both Maria Regina and Our Lady of Victory played CHSAA playoff games late last week.”:http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070224/SPORTS02/702240369/1049 Maria rallied from 13 points down to beat St. Barnabas in the quarterfinals. Amanda Robertson scored 27 points. OLV beat St. Joe’s by the Sea in the quarters 54-43 behind a career-high 24 points from Marie Stone.

OLV played St. Joe’s Hill, the top seed, today. Maria will play the winner at Cardinal Spellman in the Bronx on Friday in the CHSAA semifinals.

With the light playoff schedule, the same one I bemoaned last week, the powers that be needed a way to fill my week. So with my colleague Sam Weinman busy playing a charity hockey game, I’m filling in on the Rangers tonight. I’ll spend most of my evening covering the game and “blogging at our ever-popular Rangers Report.”:http://rangers.lohudblogs.com Something tells me the questions and comments will be far less tame than they are here. Those people DO NOT take losses lightly.

Anyway, if you have a question I’ll do my best to answer it, just don’t expect me to fire off 400 words on which team has the best fans in Class C. I’ll be about 20 feet from the ice, in prime firing range of loose pucks. My list of worries will probably look something like this:

1. The safety of my computer
2. The safety of my head.
3. The Sixth Man.

I will return tomorrow with much more time on my hands and in high anticipation of Championship Week. So until then, let’s play nice…