Round one is in the books, a Saturday filled with some drama, blowouts and a few surprises (congrats to Chandler and Desert Vista) sets up a few interesting matchups on Tuesday.
This is the last “elimination” round of the tournament, which means the winners on Tuesday advance to the final eight in Division I or Division II and will have a double-elimination format the rest of the way (until obviously the championship games).
All games at 4 p.m.:
Division I
No. 16 Perry at No. 1 Basha:  The Pumas have won 10 consecutive games …

This is it:  The last of the regular season matchups. All teams vying for playoff positions, “bubble teams” trying to get into the top-24, and jostling for one of those top 8 seeds (especially in Div. I and Div. II) have until Wednesday evening to determine whether summer vacation begins early.
The top 4 teams in each Section (based on power points) are automatic entrants, with the remaining 12 spots based solely on power points.
We’ll update the state tournament brackets as soon as they’re posted late this week.
Let’s get to it.
(All …

And then there were two. As in, two weeks of regular season action left before the softball state tournaments begin in earnest on April 28.
The playoff push begins now, because teams who wait until next week to try and make a move could easily be left on the lurch.
(All games are 4 p.m. unless otherwise noted. All records are power point games as of Monday morning):
Xavier at Basha (Tuesday):  The Gators took last week off for their (late) spring break, and are No. 1 in power points at 13-0. The …

Several EV schools — especially in boys volleyball — feel crunched and frustrated about winding up on the proverbial “bottom of the pile” when it comes to division placement.
McClintock and Marcos de Niza in baseball, for example. Higley, Williams Field, Notre Dame, Seton Catholic, Campo Verde and Combs in boys volleyball.
Those schools have legitimate arguments and frustrations about their situation, and in many cases it goes includes fall and winter sports programs.
But one school doesn’t seem to mind. The outlier in this is Perry, whose baseball team made a memorable …

In the midst of the April softball power point race with two weeks of games left, let’s get to it:
(All games at 4 p.m. unless noted. All records are power point games only as of Monday afternoon):
Chandler at Basha (Tuesday):  The Wolves (9-2) continue to be one of the nicer stories in EV softball this season, but one of those losses came big against Basha in early March (a 12-2 defeat) and the Bears, despite losing to big to Gilbert recently, are playing well. Are the Wolves a better team?  …

The softball schedule is a little more muddled and unpredictable this week with a few tournaments going on (namely the Marcos de Niza-McClintock Spring Break tourney), but here’s a smattering of (mostly) power point games worth watching around the East Valley this week.
(All records are power point games as of Monday):
Tuesday
Gilbert vs. Desert Ridge (10 a.m. at Marcos de Niza H.S.):  Desert Ridge got off to a strong start in the Red Mountain tournament early this season, then lost to Red Mountain, but beat Mountain View in PP games. A …

Here is the schedule for the seventh annual Highland Triple Play Classic baseball tournament, which runs from March 12-15:
Monday, March 12:
Dobson at Perry, 9 a.m
Highland at Mesa, 9 a.m.
Williams Field at Dobson, 12 p.m.
Cesar Chavez at Mesa, 12 p.m.
Apache Junction at Cesar Chavez, 3 p.m.
Williams Field at Perry, 3 p.m.
Highland at Apache Junction, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, March 13:
John Paul II at Dobson, 9 a.m.
Mesa at Apache Junction, 9 a.m.
John Paul II at Williams Field, 12 p.m.
Cesar Chavez at Highland, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, March 14:
Four pool play games at higher seed depending on …

This should have been started last week when power point games began for the spring season. Apologies.
But better late than never, so we’ll get to some of the more interesting games on the docket this week around the East Valley.
(All records are power-point games only as of Monday morning):
Division I
Red Mountain at Mountain View (Tuesday):  An early-season battle of the Mesa schools should be a good one. The Lions (2-1) are defending champions (5A-I), and, after a loss to a good Gilbert team, beat a solid Desert Ridge and Casa …

The moment of truth regarding the alleged power points error is getting closer.
As I said late last week, it looks like the Perry boys basketball team may get squeezed out of the state tournament because of the alleged flaw exposed by a local engineer.
The Pumas did not qualify for their section tournament, and currently sit No. 22 in the power points. Normally, it would leave Perry with a very good chance to qualify for state, but the alleged mistake now makes it more perilous.
Here’s why:
Desert Mountain (No. 24 overall), Chaparral …

There is a very interesting story on our website today in which a local engineer and power points guru exposes an alleged flaw in the power points system.
If his allegation is correct, then teams that play more power point games are inadvertently rewarded for simply playing the extra games. Wins magnify the problem more, but if the claim holds true, even losing the extra game is likely to benefit a team.
This is very important because it may alter the landscape of the boys and girls boys basketball tournaments.
There are several real-world examples …