March Madness started three weeks early in Mississippi.Basketball playoffs, a.k.a. division, district, regional and statetournaments, have been going strong. As usual, several local teamsmade impressive showings.

It gets more wild on the local scene. Mix in the start ofbaseball and softball seasons with the steady rise in basketballintensity. That causes The DAILY LEADER Sports Department scribesto go bonkers at times.

Relive this telephone conversation with a baseball/softballcoach. After months of taking basketball stats over the phone or bye-mail, it can get confusing.

“Coach, give me your score by quarters. Oops, make that yourteam’s score by innings.”

“How many free throws did you make?”

None.

“Sorry about that. We meant extra base hits.”

To put it mildly, the intermingling of sports seasons has causedsome confusion. Was that a dunk or a home run?

“When you scored that winning run, how much time was left?”

Oh, that’s right. Baseball doesn’t have a time clock.

Nowadays, when a coach calls in a game report, you have to askwhich sport he/she is talking about. Yes, all of the sports areimportant, especially to the coach and players of that respectivesport.

Meanwhile, back at the sports desk, writers and photographerswork exhausting, overtime hours doing their best to keep up withthe rise and fall of area basketball teams in the playoffs. It’s adifficult task but we are working hard to keep the readers informedwith up-to-date stories and photos.

My wife, Laurie, and I witnessed Brookhaven Academy’s last gaspperformance in the MPSA Overall Tournament at Mississippi Collegein Clinton Wednesday night. For sure the Cougars and Lady Cougarsenjoyed outstanding seasons. Unfortunately, they both absorbedlopsided losses last night to superior teams.

Looking back for a moment, Coach Dale Watts and his Cougarssurprised almost everyone with their unexpected march to the ClassAA State Tournament championship last Saturday night. They achieveda remarkable 3-peat.

Watts only had one starter returning this season in talentedguard T-Boy Lynch, the team’s only senior. He had lost 6 of his top7 players to graduation.

“We came off a mountain top after last week,” said Watts,recalling his team’s successful title defense. “Our team has reallyoverachieved this season. They’ve been a blessing.”

Coach Barry Gray’s Lady Cougars realized another 30-win seasonand a runners-up finish in the state tournament. To make theirDistrict 6-AA and South State AA championships more impressive wasthe fact that they were minus standout point guard Betsy Lynch forthe playoffs, due to a torn ACL.

When sophomore center Drew Holland Tigner sustained a high-anklesprain in the opening round of the state tournament, the futurelooked bleaker. Tigner responded to therapy and helped her teamreach the finals where they lost to unbeaten powerhouse LeakeAcademy.

We liked what Coach Gray had to say about his team after lastnight’s loss to Presbyterian Christian School of Hattiesburg. Hetalked about how much God had blessed his team.

“I told my girls, ‘You don’t realize how much God has blessedus.’ Every adversity we faced, they just got stronger. When I lookback on this season, it was a blessing.”

We admire Gray’s perspective on the game of basketball.

Ricky Gray, Barry Gray’s older brother by four years, has anoutstanding team in the McComb Parklane Pioneers. They resembled abig red machine last night, roaring past the BA Cougars. They havesize, speed, depth and play with intensity.

A super talent for the Pioneers is Dane Hogan, a slender6-foot-3 junior guard. Hogan flew up and down the floor last night,streaking past defenders. He made steals, crisp passes, reboundedwith authority and shot the ball with deadly accuracy.

It was a miracle that Hogan was even playing. He had a heartcatherization procedure three weeks ago. Obviously, Hogan has madea full recovery.

“This is really fun to see him play,” said Gray. “He loves thegame.”

Gray said his Pioneers are playing well after hitting a fewbumps in the road this season. “We are starting to come backtogether.”

The Pioneers play Greenwood Pillow Friday night in thesemifinals which have been moved to Jackson Prep. MississippiCollege is hosting an NCAA Division III regional on Friday andSaturday. so the Choctaws need A.E. Wood Coliseum forthemselves.

Write to sports editor Tom Goetz, c/o The DAILY LEADER, P.O.BOX 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602 or e-mailsports@dailyleader.com