One of my playoff...

Ralph Waldo Emerson.

...pet peeves, as I mentioned yesterday, is when two teams who already played each other in the regular season -- usually from the same conference -- are paired in the first round. Haven't we seen this movie before?

While a few immediately jumped out at me, when I dug into the top four brackets I could only find five such games.* (I have to admit, I was surprised. Did I miss any?) Here's my list of reruns, with home teams in CAPS:

8A:

Week Five MAINE SOUTH 56, Evanston 14
Week Four BARRINGTON 45, Glenbrook South 24

7A:

Week Eight Hersey 21, ROLLING MEADOWS 20

6A:

Week Three PRAIRIE RIDGE 56, Crystal Lake Central 13
Week Four Rockford (Auburn) 15, BELVIDERE NORTH 8

Now, a couple of things. Does anyone really think there's a chance that Maine South, Barrington or Prairie Ridge will fail to advance to the second round? Couldn't the IHSA make things just a little more interesting by requiring all first-round teams to play someone they haven't already faced in the regular season? Couldn't Maine South and Homewood-Flossmoor, for example, trade opponents, so that the Hawks host Lake Park and the Vikings play Evanston? (Does anyone else care?) It can't be about geography -- just look at some of the other matchups.

The good news, however, is that the winner of the Maine South - Evanston matchup wouldn't play Glenbrook South until the finals. (Which is the way it should be, right?) But Prairie Ridge will most likely face Cary-Grove, whom they beat, 7-6, in Week One, in the second round. (I started to look at other potential second-round matchups but quickly gave up. Maybe I'll check again next week.) And while I'm sure there are a lot of people up north who can't wait to see that rematch just imagine how much cooler it would be if they met up in the finals.

Okay, now for a little nuance, or as some people might call it, hypocrisy. I'd really like to see that Hersey - Rolling Meadows contest on Friday night. And who, in their right mind, thinks these two programs could make it to the finals anyway? Does that make me a hypocrite? Yeah, maybe.** Hey, reading this blog is free. You get what you pay for sometimes.

Enjoy the games!

* I couldn't find any in 5A.

** Remember what that great high school football fan, Emerson, wrote in 1841, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds..."