I was being tormented most of the week.  That is in trying to decide what to do on Friday Night.
As soon as Cardinal Newman pulled out its overtime win over Windsor and the Friday Championship games were set, the torment moved to a different level.

My favorite event on the local sports scene is the North Bay League basketball night at SRJC.  My second favorite is a Cardinal Newman-Montgomery basketball game.  When the two merge, it is pure heaven.
So now that you know that about me you are thinking, “What is the problem?” It is the dream Friday night.
Well at the same time was the SCL Championship game at Elsie Allen, where they were hosting Piner.  The Elsie Allen story will be right up there in consideration when this school year ends as the story of the year.  That game deserves more publicity then it was going to get.  I even emailed the SCL commission about changing the game to Saturday.  I thought for sure attendance would be hurt by the NBL event being played the same day.
So there it was.  There will be more Cardinal Newman-Montgomery games in the future, and history tell us they will play in more of those special nights at SRJC.  On the other hand Elsie Allen in a championship game?  History tells us that it just doesn’t happen.
Can you see my torment?  It bugged me so much that I actually got sick and missed a day of work at my main job on Thursday.
Okay that wasn’t the reason, but it adds to the story.  I was going to say it sounds good, but it probably doesn’t.
I was actually thinking about it all day Friday, and finally decided the heck with it, I’m going to the JC.  I went home planning to go to the JC and was ready to go to the JC.  Then at family dinner I mentioned what I had been thinking all week and my daughter, who is a junior at Santa Rosa High School, basically let me have it for not going to see the Elsie Allen game.
At that moment I decided to go to Elsie Allen.
It worked out fine.  The Piner-Elsie Allen game was one of the best games I have seen this year.  I was wrong about the game being on the same night as the NBL event hurting the crowd.  They couldn’t have fit many more people into the Elsie Allen gym.  The moment the game ended I headed to the JC and caught the end of the Cardinal Newman-Montgomery game.  The crowd for that game wasn’t hurt by the SCL title game being on the same night either.
For the most part it was one of the best nights for high school sports in recent memory.  There were two big crowds, along with two thrilling games.
There was also one very good decision by me, that was made with a little help from my little one.
FOR THE MOST PART
In the game article about the  Piner and Elsie Allen game,  I mentioned that the start of the game was delayed twice. Once to let more of the big crowd come in, and the other time to dry off one part of the floor.
I didn’t really give much thought about how the water got there, although the moment I did think about it, wondering where it might have come from.  Except for reading my notes after the long night I had forgotten about it.  When I saw it on my notes, I decided to add it.  I thought it was a heck of a scene that both teams were helping out drying off the court, moments before they were going to go after one another.
I typed my article, it was posted and I moved on with my Saturday leaving that moment behind.
I had a Saturday Morning  job, (not related to this) and when I got home that afternoon checked our Facebook page to see if there was any messages on the page from our fans.
I was particularly interested in any comments on the Piner-Elsie Allen post.  There were comments, most complimentary of what a super game it was.
One wasn’t so complimentary.
It said, “It would have been nice if ysn posted things with accurate facts.  The second reason the game was delayed was not just due to some water on the side court.  It was due to some of Piners students throwing a water bottle at the Elsie Allen team while they were being announced.  Great game last night, but some of these kids should be showing a lot more respect than what they showed last night.”
That was the first I had heard about the bottle and I took it personally, about the accurate facts statement.  I sent this person a message stating that.  We went back and forth for a bit and had a conversation about the incident that I hadn’t heard about.
This person told me she knew that an Elsie Allen cheerleader was hit with a bottle.  After chatting I believed the version I was being told and least as this person was telling it.  I couldn’t think of a better reason for why the floor was so wet.
The bottom line is that it is too bad that happened, obviously.  It seems like an announcement should have been made and the person pointed out and kicked out.  Anyone that knows who that was and didn’t say anything is part of the problem.
There is one other point.  When the alleged bottle throwing incident happened, the gym was dark.  That is what Elsie Allen does when the starting lineup is announced.  The gym is pitch black, except for cell phone lights. There isn’t a rip against the Piner fan base because of one or two idiots.  There isn’t even a certainty that the water bottle that was thrown was by a Piner student.
Incidents like that happen occasionally and thank goodness not too often.
This shouldn’t take away from the people who acted right, which were most of the crowd who enjoyed a super basketball game, but needed to be pointed out.
It was a class act by the kids who helped clean up the messed and then they went out and played a thrilling game.
That is what should be remembered.
NCS PLAYOFFS PICKED SUNDAY
I usually do a big preview on the North Coast Section playoffs.
Here it is… Don’t expect much.
My email address is jacpasquini@comcast.net
You can also now follow me at twitter @homer2612