WHAT'S CAUSING ALL THIS?
Districts, they are a-changin'
MITCH LUCAS

LUCAS

Well, everybody sat around for two years, talking about the changes that were coming under the new district realignment by the University Interscholastic League, and we saw a few, didn't we?

- Longview High School dropped in classification from 5A to 4A. This is the one a lot of people in East Texas are talking about, simply because of the ramifications on other schools. If I'm a head coach at John Tyler High School or Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, I'm not thrilled with the prospects of having to play my district games in Mesquite every week. If I'm Pine Tree, Hallsville, Mount Pleasant or Sulphur Springs, I'm not overly enthusiastic about the idea of facing the Longview Lobos in anything, let alone football. And if I'm Texas High, my lofty perch as one of the big football powers in 4A in East Texas just got a little more uncomfortable.

Bottom line: the move is good, I guess, if you're a Longview High fan, although I already saw some of them talking smack on the news on Friday night, many of them saying that a Class 4A state title (I'm guessing they mean football) is in the bag, and how 4A is no competition.

Yeah, right.

- Sabine dropped from 3A to 2A. It was kind of unfair for Sabine to be playing sports at the 3A level, anyway, for the last two years, because the Cardinals were something like three or four students over the 2A-3A cutoff. I think I remember athletic director/football coach David Feaster telling me they were the smallest 3A school in the state.

Well, no more. Sabine will now play in a district that does include typical athletic power Elysian Fields, but also includes Harmony, Harleton, and the also-moved-down White Oak. A lot of Cardinals' fans have often told me they might be able to do better on a 2A level. We'll now have the chance to see that play out.

- No more Kilgore in-district rivalries against Pine Tree, Marshall and Hallsville. I'm actually glad of this. Kilgore has long been in the same district as those Longview-area schools, and I'll admit KHS has a good rivalry with each. But I think it's time for some new blood, so to speak. We get to keep our district rivalries with Henderson, Jacksonville, Nacogdoches and Whitehouse, and we have Lindale thrown into the mix. That's just a six-team district, and as you can read on page 8A today, we still get to play Marshall and Hallsville in non-district football. I think that's a win-win situation.

I'm looking at the tentative football schedule, and I like it. Kilgore and Carthage have long had a good rivalry, and a football matchup against Gilmer is a big-money game. That puts two of East Texas' power teams from two different classifications on the field at the same time, and that's a lot of talent. That game will be a lot of fun.

I hope to bring you guys the full schedule after the upcoming district meeting, with home and away sites. Stay tuned.

• Finishing a good season: Kilgore High School's girls basketball team got a run for their money Friday night against Pine Tree, but I think, in hindsight, it was healthy, as the girls head to the playoffs. This will be the first playoff run for Kilgore since spring, 2005 (KHS has missed the playoffs the last two seasons), but they might have to face Nacogdoches in a seeding game first. As we speak, Kilgore and Nac are tied atop the district standings, with just one game left.

At the same time, the KHS boys basketball team will end another year without a postseason appearance, and best I can figure out, that streak dates back to the early 1980s. Sure hate that, but I know coach Jimmy Williams is doing a good job building this team. There's talent there at the varsity, junior varsity and freshmen levels, and Williams will have them on track. Next year, four teams will make the playoffs out of the six teams in the district, and I'm predicting right now the Bulldogs will break the long playoff drought next season.

• Spring sports about to be in full swing: Soccer is almost half-way through its district schedule, as basketball is wrapping up. Tennis has begun, and the Bulldogs' tennis team will be in a tournament this weekend at John Tyler, by the way. But baseball, softball, and track are closing in, and I'll be busier. If you see me, take the time to say a quick hello. And don't blink: with all of that going on, I probably won't be standing still long.

• Super Bowl XLII: I didn't have a lot of space in this sports section, but earlier in the week in Kilgoround, I promised I'd have a Super Bowl prediction. The Patriots will face the Giants in today's Super Bowl. Back in August, I picked New England to win (although I got the opponent wrong).

I don't care for either team in this game. Eli Manning reminds me of a fraternity brat who just woke up for his 8 o'clock class at 8:30. My dislike of the Patriots is rooted in a couple of things. No. 1, I believe their coach, Bill Belichick, is one of the top 10 most arrogant people on this planet. Secondly, I dislike New England out of just plain ol' jealousy. Growing up, I watched a lot of great quarterbacks (Joe Montana, Dan Marino, John Elway, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, Steve Young, etc.). I give Tom Brady his due: he is a very, very good player. But to call him the best of all time - when you consider the men who have played that position - is INSANE. If I had one game to win, and I could choose any quarterback ever, Brady would not even be in my top 10.

I'm a firm believer that people live in the moment. In other words, over time, people forget how good you were. I think that happened with Johnny Unitas (who I would put HIGH in that top 10, by the way), and I think it's happening now with Montana, who was just brilliant.

OK, to the prediction. Brady's supposedly hobbled by a gimpy right ankle. His offensive line is the best in pro football, though, and I don't think the Giants will be able to pressure Brady as much as they'd like. I do think New England will try to get wide receiver Randy Moss involved in the game early. If Brady and Moss hook up at will, this game is over, and it won't matter what the Giants can do offensively.

For the Giants to win, they've got to create some turnovers. That means pressuring Brady. They've also got to get a near-perfect game from Eli. And I'm just not sure that can happen. He's due for a bad one. The football part of my brain says the Patriots will win, although I do think it'll be close, at least for much of the game. I'll say New England 34, New York 24. And if I'm wrong, remember: my prediction is in the paper. Everyone else's is at the watercooler.

Have a great week.