Go West young man

Before I start, I'd like to pose two questions. One, does the sun ever shine here? And two, Ron Artest - team cancer and borderline psychopath, or misunderstood musical genius?

Let me also say that I've never been a fan of the formulaic "Let my first column be about me" column (a close relative of the 'Let my last column be about me, but even more sappy' column), but I'd be remiss if I didn't include a brief introduction about myself, even though I've been here for two months.

I'm from Chicago and I've been following sports since I was four. Baseball was my first passion, and still is (and why does it not seem to exist here?). I was at Wrigley Field for Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS - and I have the therapy bills to prove it - but I don't blame Bartman.

I grew up with MJ and Pip, Da Bears on TV every Sunday (though I'm too young to remember the '85 team very well) and the Cubs on WGN. The White Sox, to me, are like a black sheep uncle - I acknowledge their existence and will even say "Hi" on occasion, but I won't walk across a room to shake their hand (how's that for a simile?). I'm also vaguely aware that Chicago has a hockey team.

But since becoming a sports writer six years ago, my allegiances have switched from our national pastime to basketball. To me, there's nothing more exciting than a packed gym in March and the rhythmic chants of "Season's over" delivered with the force of a gut-wrenching blow to the abdomen. Illinois, after all, is the original home of "March Madness."

So some people might ask, "Why Montana?" The weather's bad, there's not much to do that doesn't involve skis, a fishing pole or a gun rack, and there isn't a professional sports team within 10 hours. My answer is, "Why not?"

I'll admit at first I was leery of coming to cover sports in a state whose athletic claim to fame is either a non-Hall-of-Fame pitcher who last threw three decades ago (Dave McNally), a rodeo champion (Dan Mortensen) or someone named "Evel."

And I was warned that the basketball here would be second-rate, at best.

As someone who saw current Tennessee star Candace Parker light it up in high school and Duke-signee Jon Scheyer drop 11 3-pointers in a game last March, I wasn't looking forward to downgrading from an Escalade to a Dodge Stratus.

Little did I know, I was about to be pleasantly surprised. Of the half-dozen or so local teams I've had a chance to see so far, I've discovered one thing - these kids can play.

The first, and obviously best, team in the area has been the Flathead boys squad. Even without freshman Man Child Brock Osweiler, this would still be a team worth watching. With the outside shooting of senior Beau Watkins and the sheer athleticism of 6-foot-5 junior swingman Geoff Hogan, the Braves pack enough offensive firepower to blow the roof off any gym in Montana. And what's more - any gym in the Land of Lincoln.

But the boys aren't the only team in Flathead's gym worth watching. The Bravettes, led by two- and soon-to-be three-time All-Stater Holli Hashley, will be a team to be reckoned with come March. It's a shame they only draw half the crowd of their male counterparts. The only thing standing in their way is developing a sidekick for their senior scoring machine.

The same could be said about the girls at Whitefish. Sophomore Ashley Ferda can fill it up with the best of them, but the Bulldogs will stay collared until someone else can step up and score more than five or six points per game.

The real team to watch on the girls side is Polson, which is keyed by seniors Jen Orchard and Kara Huyser. The Lady Pirates have managed to run the table so far, and should have no trouble advancing to the state tournament.

That leaves six teams fighting for one spot. It should be a furious three months ahead for those six squads.

And you can't forget about Eureka, which is off to a 5-1 start in Class B. In fact, I can't wait to see both Lincoln County teams in action, especially junior Isiah Linnell.

Over on the boys side, four teams are off to solid starts in Northwestern A play. After brief hiccup against Flathead, defending Class A champ Columbia Falls, led by senior Kevin Boyer, has proven it still intends to maintain its winning tradition. Whitefish, Polson and Libby also have winning records thus far.

Now I'd like to do something that will probably anger hundreds of high school hangers on and parents living vicariously through their kids, and may even get me sucker-punched in a local bar - the rankings.

Over on the boys side - 1. Flathead (4-0), 2. Columbia Falls (4-2), 3. Polson (4-2), 4. Eureka (3-3), 5. Libby (3-1), 6. Whitefish (3-2), 7. Bigfork (0-4).

As for the girls - 1. Polson (7-0), 2. Flathead (3-1), 3. Eureka (5-1), 4. Columbia Falls (4-2), 5. Whitefish (3-3), 6. Bigfork (2-3), 7. Libby (2-3).

I'd like to climb up on my soapbox for a minute and rant about something that has bothered me at almost every game I've been to - well, other than not one of the dozen games I've covered has started even remotely on time - the officiating. Now before you ref-o-philes (Is that a word?) out there come crying about how refs volunteer their time for little money and a lot of abuse, I realize that theirs is a thankless job. But how hard is it to be even a somewhat competent ref? Some brief advice for you zebras out there - a blocked shot is not a held ball.

Let me close by vowing to you (I hope) loyal readers. I will never use my column to whine about T.O. or his lackey Drew Rosenhaus, Jose Canseco, Rafael Palmeiro, the Whizzinator, the Vikings who sullied the once-pure waters of Lake Minnetonka or any of sports' other black eyes. Well, until Barry "Flaxseed Oil" Bonds passes the Babe next year.

I'll see you in the stands.