Taking a break?

I watch a lot of sports. From football to cross country to baseball to wrestling, I watch them all.

Of course, that's my job. I'm the sports editor for three newspapers in eastern Nebraska. Those three papers provide coverage for seven high schools and one college, and let me tell you, that keeps my calendar pretty full. Granted, I only take care of four of the schools and the college, but still, I don't get a lot of evenings at home during the school year.

So when I have one of those rare creatures, I try to take advantage of it. I might spend part of the evening with a book, or I might watch a movie. I might see if there's a game on TV that looks good, but I don't usually pay close attention to that. It's more background noise for whatever else I'm doing. When you're watching a game on TV, it's hard to miss the big plays. Not only do the announcers go bananas, which will get your attention even if you're dead, the play is replayed at least a gazillion times.

Sometimes, that's not a bad thing. I still stop to watch Nebraska's Hail Mary from Saturday. It was such an unbelievable, incredible play, how can I not?

Anyway, we're at a point in the year when my schedule loosens up just a smidge. Seasons are coming to an end, which means I don't have quite as many games to get to. While I feel bad for my teams when they lose, because losing is hard to swallow and it's tough to see a season come to an end, I find myself inwardly OK with the loss. It's probably a selfish thought on my end, but there it is.

So, we have one volleyball team still playing, and they will probably earn a spot in the state tournament next week. We have three football teams playing tonight in their respective playoff brackets, so we'll see what happens.

And then there's Concordia, the university in town. They've already started their basketball season. Basketball! I'm not sure I'm ready for that. But both the men and women played in tournaments last weekend and host the annual Cattle Classic this weekend. So, ready or not, here we go.

So much for a break.