Time to throw in the state playoff towel

Enough is enough.

Tuesday evening the tri-county area had three teams playing in opening-round CIF state championship basketball games. And these weren't just any teams - the Corning girls, Hamilton girls and Corning boys had garnered a Section championship and two Section runners-up finishes between them - and boasted a combined won-loss record of 71-14 before Tuesday night.

These are good teams.

But thanks to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and its apparent need to determine the "best of the best" from more than 1,200 high schools in the state of California, there are no more than a handful of basketball teams that get to end their seasons without the disappointment of a loss.

How did the Hamilton girls, Corning girls, and Corning boys fare? All three squads lost, and by an average of 24 points. So sorry Corning girls, your Div. IV championship and 22-4 record were not enough to end with, nor were your second-place finish in girls Div. V and 26-4 Hamilton, or your second-place in Div. IV and 23-6 mark Corning boys.

You see, it's much more poetic, especially for the seniors on the teams, to shed the tears that not only follow the realization that most have played their last competitive game of basketball, but also that their careers have ended with a loss.

Oh, and forget about it if you wanted to get a good jump on the spring sports season of your choice, because the CIF can keep you playing well into it. This disrupts the season not just for the athletes still playing their winter sports, but also the spring teams that await their arrival and contributions to those programs.

I also find it curious that while it seems to be of utmost importance to pit the teams from the north against each other before eventually sacrificing them to teams from the south, the CIF allows the Div. VI winners to bask in their championship glow and its many accomplishments without play past the Section championships.

This year it has happened in football and in basketball, and I'm saying that it doesn't need to happen at all - let the winners be winners and go out as winners.

Enjoy your Boys Div. VI basketball title Princeton, you're among the select few teams who get to celebrate their achievement for more than a few days!