Best of luck to wrestlers and swimmers competing at the regional and sectional meets this Saturday!

It’s just such a wonderful time of year. Like, how could you not have a smile on your face if you’re a sports fan right now?

For starters, it’s Super Bowl week and the NBA season is in full swing. Also, girls basketball sectionals are heating up. Also, also girls swim sectionals. Also, also, also wrestling regional. Also, also, also, also baseball spring training is right around the corner. It’s just such a magical time!

I elected not to do a Super Bowl preview this year due to my past two failures. The last two years I put out a separate article just for the Super Bowl but it was a lot of research just to churn out an incorrect pick. Plus I felt like it would be a waste of time this year because I’ve been set on my pick for quite a while.

I’m going with the Broncos. It’s a partially biased pick because of Peyton Manning, but it’s also just a major gut feeling. I’ve felt good about Denver all season and I don’t feel much different now than I did in September. The Broncos defense is just so good and I think there is a destiny thing playing out here for Manning.

I truly believed that if the Broncos could get past Pittsburgh in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs that they would win the Super Bowl. I went as far to guarantee it on Twitter and promised lunch to the first five retweets if I ended up being wrong. So, now the stakes are even bigger for Denver, Lombardi Trophy and lunch for five random people in Indiana.

I feel Manning will do his part to set up the Denver running game and that will be the key for the offense to be productive. The Broncos defense will continue to be dominant, forcing Cam Newton to turn the ball over will be huge in this game. I’m just feeling good about the Broncos on Sunday and can’t wait to see Manning take the field (possibly) one last time.

And, by the way, I am a huge Cam Newton fan. If the Panthers end up winning, that will be fine because Newton is such a great player. He is, in my opinion, a great ambassador for the game. His work with Play60 and his interaction with kids at games is something the NFL needs more of. Yeah, he’s cocky, but wouldn’t you be if you had his talent?

I’m going 24-20 Broncos. If you want to hear more of my uneducated guessing about the Super Bowl, tune into 93.7 FM Saturday morning at 9 a.m. I’ll be doing a show with the students from Wawasee talking about the big game, college basketball and why the Pro Bowl is pointless. Should be fun.

Wawasee head coach Kem Zolman announced his retirement this week, I’ll talk about that in next week’s article. I have a lot to say and need a few more days to chop it all down.

Last Week: 4-2
Overall: 94-49

Girls High School Basketball Sectionals 2/5

No. 7 Whitko (18-6) vs. Central Noble (18-6), 6 p.m. Central Noble Class 2A Sectional
The Scoop: The Wildcats blew out Bremen Tuesday night to get to this point. Whitko is playing very good basketball as of late and that should continue tonight. I have felt since the preseason that Whitko was going to do some special things this season and fully believe this team will win the sectional.
Aly Reiff has been spending most of the season in the limelight for this team but Jen Reiff and Brianna Cumberland have finally emerged as viable options in recent weeks. That three-headed monster, along with the presence of Hanna and Haley Yohe make this a tough team right now.
Don’t get me wrong, this game should not be a cake walk, but I feel good about the ‘Cats here.
Nick’s Pick: Whitko 56, Central Noble 42.

No. 4 Tippecanoe Valley (22-1) vs. West Noble (16-7), 6 p.m. Tippecanoe Valley 3A Sectional
The Scoop: These two teams met back on Jan. 2 in what was a very physical and close game. Well, close until the final quarter.
West Noble has had a great season and is known for its physical play. The Chargers have several good shooters and that’s what kept them in the game last time against Valley. Hannah Dunn and Addy Miller made the difference for the Lady Vikes in that contest and will be key players this time around as well.
I could yank your chain here and act like I’m going to pick the upset, but that’s just a waste of time. Valley is going to win this game because it’s hands down the better team. I do think West Noble will make things interesting for a while, like it did last time. But Valley is way too deep and too talented to let this game slip away.
I know this sounds crazy, but I’ve got the Lady Vikings winning the sectional tomorrow night as well.
Nick’s Pick: Valley 62, West Noble 39.

Lakeland Christian Academy (12-11) vs. Fort Wayne Blackhawk (13-10), 6 p.m. Hamilton Class 1A Sectional
The Scoop: Blackhawk began its postseason Tuesday night with a win over Elkhart Christian, 51-36. LCA’s last outing was last week against Blackhawk, a game the Cougars lost 56-35.
LCA has had a very good season under first-year head coach Allison Kauffman but I think there is still some growth to be made be the Cougars make a sectional push. Blackhawk is a much more experienced team and has already proven it can beat LCA in convincing fashion. I expect a better game, but a similar result.
Nick’s Pick: Blackhawk 50, LCA 43.

Warsaw (10-13) vs. Concord (5-17), 6 p.m. Goshen 4A Sectional
The Scoop: Warsaw got the perfect sectional draw this year. The Lady Tigers had an winnable game against Elkhart Central Tuesday night and have a cake walk tonight. I’m sorry, Concord fans, it’s just the truth. This team has struggled mightily this year and doesn’t stand a chance tonight. Warsaw already rolled this team once this year and I expect the same to happen tonight. Concord only averages 35 PPG on offense and can’t play defense. This is a gift.
I would be absolutely shocked if the Lady Tigers lost this game. Warsaw wins big, book it.
Nick’s Pick: Warsaw 75, Concord 43.

High School Boys Basketball 2/6

Eastbrook (3-13) at Whitko (9-8), 1:30 p.m.
The Scoop: The Wildcats pulled back above .500 Thursday night and are on a two-game win streak right now. Eastbrook is coming off a win over Blackhawk last week, snapping a seven-game losing streak.
Whitko has only improved since the beginning of the season and boasts two prolific scorers in Nate Walpole and River West.
Whitko’s offense is very potent and Eastbrook struggles mightily on defense, surrendering over 60 PPG.
This is just another easy pick. Sorry, I’m cherry picking.
Nick’s Pick: Whitko 73, Eastbrook 36.

Triton (11-6, 3-2) at Caston (6-11, 2-2), 2:30 p.m.
The Scoop: Caston get its name from combining Cass and Fulton into one word.
I put some thought into why “Caston” was the final choice. What gave Cass County precedence over Fulton County? That seems unfair and belittling to Fulton County residents. Like, why couldn’t they take the “Ful” of Fulton and the last part of Cass to make “Fula-“…Actually, never mind, I see why they went the way they did.
Triton has had a few letdowns this year, I don’t expect another after Thursday’s loss at Argos.
I wasted too much space talking about why Caston is called Caston…
Nick’s Pick: Triton 49, Caston 37.