After my brilliant post...

...yesterday in which I suggested that the IHSA move to a double-elimination tournament in football and basketball, my son wrote in the comments section, "How many more games would this create in the high school football playoffs?"

Uh oh.

Just like a good lawyer, Joe never asks a question to which he doesn't already know the answer.

I obviously hadn't thought this through.

So I put a pencil to it. Yikes! It was a lot of games. Too many. (That explains why the IHSA doesn't do it.)

Undeterred, I did some research and found that a double-elimination tournament was not uncommon in baseball. But football? Nothing. Basketball? Nothing.

I approached the experts at MaxPreps.

I wrote to Stephen Spiewak, who's listed on their Web site as "Writer/National Football Editor":

"Have you ever heard of a double-elimination tournament in high school football?"

To which he answered simply, "No."

Jason Hickman, the "National Basketball Writer/Editor" was a little more loquacious in his response to a similar query concerning the round ball sport:

"Not that I'm aware of. In some states when they get to the round of 4/8/16 you may see some consolation games but I'm not aware of a state where you can lose and then play back through bracket and still win state title."

So there you have it. The IHSA doesn't have a double-elimination tournament in football or basketball because it would involve too darned many games. (Just click on that image above for a better view.)

I get it now. Mea culpa.

But I'd still like to see Simeon play Morgan Park just one last time. (And Mount Carmel play Glenbard West in football.)

How 'bout it, guys? For charity?