By Tom Reck
Super Bowl Week is here, complete with the up-to-minute media reports from Florida that will not stop until Sunday night.
On paper, this Super Bowl could be one of the best.
You have the top seeds from the AFC and NFC in the big game and two of the best — if not the two best — quarterbacks in the game today.
Indianapolis became the early favorite — at least by the oddsmakers — almost as soon as the Colts defeated the New York Jets. The Colts should remain the favorite until game time following all that pre-game hype and that’s good.
We’ll go with the favorite and say the Colts win it 27-13. And hope it does not jinx the Colts.
• Lions on a roll — Several high school boys basketball teams have been playing well in the Valley in the new year but none better than the Marshall Lions in Illinois.
They have not lost in 2010 and have won eight in a row since losing in the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic.
They won the Little Illini Conference tournament last week for the fourth straight year and for the sixth time in the past eight years.
The Lions averaged 65.7 points in the three tournament games and gave up an average of 41.7.
It was Marshall’s 16th championship in the event and Tom Brannan has been the coach of nine of those champs.
Marshall has road games at Oblong and Edwards County this week and then will take on rival Casey next week. The Warriors are playing well too and were consolation champs in the tournament.
Shakamak is one of the teams faced by the Lions last month and the Lakers have beaten two fellow Class A ranked teams the past two weeks, No. 3 Barr-Reeve last week and White River Valley the previous week.
The Lakers are 3-0 in the Tri-River Conference and meet league rival Clay City this week.
• Tom-Cattin’ It — “Nellie” Bennett coached the Marshall Lions for a long time and can use the thoughts and prayers of his many friends.
He recently suffered a stroke and spent some time in the hospital. Get well, coach.
• Former South Vermillion athlete Jeff Delph has returned to the area as teacher and coach in the SV system. He’s coaching the 7th-grade boys basketball team that recently finished a 17-4 season.
• The Parade Magazine All-America high school football team was announced Sunday. Shakir Bell of Warren Central was the Indiana player on the list.
• Indiana teams again ranked high in the USA Today girls high school basketball poll last week with Ben Davis second and Floyd Central 21st.
Bloomington South was ninth in the boys rankings.
Indianapolis North Central is not ranked but we think the Panthers should be. They recently defeated Lawrence North 99-55 and also whipped Warren Central 82-55.
Lawrence North, meanwhile, also lost to Center Grove — the leader in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference standings.
Shakamak is one of the teams faced by the Lions last month and the Lakers have beaten two fellow Class A ranked teams the past two weeks, No. 3 Barr-Reeve last week and White River Valley the previous week.
The Lakers are 3-0 in the Tri-River Conference and meet league rival Clay City this week.
Tom Reck may be contacted by telephone at (812) 232-3231, by email at tm_reck@yahoo.com or by mail at 4284 South 5th Street, Apt. 3, Terre Haute, IN 47802.
