The WIAA girl's high school basketball postseason got underway Tuesday night, and some of the scores were downright ridiculously lopsided. A handful of teams throughout the state didn't even crack double digits on the scoreboard ... a couple winners hit the century mark.
Here is an area sampling of tilted scores:
Kettle Moraine 41, Waukesha North 15
Brookfield Central 85, Milwaukee Pulaski 8
Rufus King 77, Milwaukee Reagan 19
DSHA 68, Milwaukee South 21
Pius XI 76, Bay View 4
New Berlin West 77, St. Joan Antida 17
Grafton 63, Young Coggs Prep 14
Central Wisconsin Christian 73, University Lake School 12
This is what happens when the brackets bulge, when the whole association expands to include private schools, and the consensus is that everybody should experience playoff basketball.
So tell me, what kind of taste do you have in your mouth all summer long if you are one of the young girls playing for Bay View?
I'm not here to call anyone out. I'm not saying the winning teams stepped on the gas and should have let up.
Sometimes, you can throw your entire JV roster out there, and still get the same outcome. And if you play your bench warmers extended minutes, do you huddle them up and tell them not to shoot?
Of course not. It is what it is.
I offer one solution that will never happen: cut back the brackets and set criteria for making it into the postseason. But we all know once you've included every single team, there is no way the WIAA will slam on the brakes, back it up and limit the number of participants who play in March.
The boys first round games had a fair share of out of this world first round scores. Germantown rolled up 122 against Milwaukee Madison, Whitefish Bay Dominican tallied 106 in a coast over Milwaukee Career Academy. No finger pointing here -- the match-ups were lousy the second they jumped it up at center court.
This is why I cringe every time the idea is floated out there to expand the prep football playoffs. Do it, and I guarantee, you'll see someone get hurt. You'll see powerhouse squads show zero mercy and destroy some over-matched school. It's already starting to happen with a limited field taking the field in football.
I'm aware of the intent here. Give one and all a taste of playoff "one and done" basketball. Regardless of the regular season record, here's a "do over." It's a new season, the records are 0-0. But who comes away thinking they actually have something to build on after getting their lunch, breakfast and dinner handed to them?
My wish was never granted and never will be. That is, the regular season should determine who earns the right to play in the postseason. Take care of business, and you play on. And if your program isn't cutting it, then you call it a season and set that as you goal. Take small steps, walk before you run, dangle an incentive to extend your season.
I don't see it, I don't get it and I never will.
Bob currently does play-by-play at Time Warner Cable Sports 32, calling Wisconsin Timber Rattlers games in Appleton as well as the area high school football and basketball scene. During an earlier association with FS Wisconsin, his list of teams and duties have included the Packers, Bucks, Brewers and the WIAA State Championships.
During his life before cable, Bob spent seven seasons as a reporter and producer of "Preps Plus: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel High School Sports Show."
And the joke is, Bob has a golf shirt from all four Milwaukee television stations. Sad, but true: Bob has had sports and news anchor/reporter/producer stints at WTMJ, WISN, WDJT and WITI.
His first duty out of college (UW-Oshkosh) was radio and TV work in Eau Claire. Bob spent nearly a decade at WEAU-TV as a sports director and reporter.
You may have heard Bob's pipes around town as well. He has done play-by-play for the Milwaukee Mustangs, Milwaukee Iron, and UW-Milwaukee men's and women's basketball. Bob was the public address announcer for five seasons for both the Marquette men and women's basketball squads. This season, you can catch the starting lineups of the UW-Milwaukee Panther men's games with Bob behind the mic.
A Brookfield Central graduate, Bob's love and passion for sports began at an early age, when paper football leagues, and Wiffle Ball All Star Games were all the rage in the neighborhood.
