Pundits and psychologists say that our words, actions and ideas are streamlined to our personal notion of "normalcy" or a state where things feel "normal." Maybe that is why everyone with even the most minute interest in area high school basketball is caught up with this effortless concept that the boy's division I regional is up for grabs. There is something wrong, forbidden and unpure if a competition isn't soaked in parity I guess and that a said competition must be "up for grabs."

However, let's all face the facts people...Eau Claire North is the CLEAR CUT favorite to win the Division I regional, if not the sectional and go on to Madison in two weeks. Many of the area's local television sportscasters are close friends of mine, but quite frankly, for the past few weeks their never ceasing talk about the fact "any team" could pull the regional out has been misguided. Is it simply impossible for my sports brethren to actually go out on a limb and say who the favorite is instead of throwing the blanket of "parity" over everything. That blanket is as comforting as the one we all slept with when we were four, but mush like that blanket, its now full of holes and lived out its effectiveness.

Sometimes a favorite isn't a team that is dominant, but is one that is set-up the best to make a run and has shown the ability to win in various fashions throughout the season. Let's look at North. Granted they didn't ransack the Big Rivers Conference, and a play here or there could've turned their season the other way but that didn't happen. Instead, North found legitimate ways to win all season with various weapons. Some nights it was the post play of Anderson and Brown. Other nights, Kleist keyed the attack from the small forward position.

Therein lies where most people are fearful of publicity supporting North...the fact its not always Anderson and Brown that are the focal point of the offense. People scream that head coach Pat Hammond is under utilizing these players, whereas I say he is a genius. Even when Anderson and Brown aren't touching the ball they are a factor by their sheer size and the ever present notion that they MAY get the ball. However, the team has many weapons and no one knows where the attack will come from. As long as guard Paul Hahn is out there pivoting the offense at the point, the team has a steady hand and can go in different directions.

The argument given is that North has lost to Menomonie, and Memorial gave them a scare a couple weeks ago. My opponents to the claim that North is a clear-cut favorite will say that the coaches have been talking about the "wide-open race" and the fact "anyone can beat anyone on any given night." Funny thing is, I bet these coaches said these things last year, the year before that and every year since Dr. Naismith got bored and needed a use for a peach basket.

This isn't to say there is no reason to play the games, for North could be upset. A poor shooting night, an opponent playing well, etc. However, it would be just that...an upset and one that should be viewed as a surprise. North is vulnerable, but I'm willing to give them the distinction of being my pick to win the region, and I'm close to giving them a pass to Madison as well.

I'm so sure of this that I've made it known to many in my inner-circle, and now to the entire Western Wisconsin region, that if North were to be tripped up before the sectional final that I will grow my hair out for one full month. Being that I'm already shaved, the traditional bet of shaving one's head can't apply but I can go in reverse. It'll be a little depressing if I have to realize once again that I have the classic horseshoe pattern and the day's of the boyish curls are as long gone as afternoon G.I. Joe PSA's and Mr. Hooper, but at least I'm not taking the simplistic way out of analyzing sports by saying everyone is equal.

Side Note:

A month ago, a list of overused clichés was sent out by Lake Superior State, one of those studies that is Grade A filler for the end of the year news cycle. In sports, parity has been past it's prime for about a decade when NFL commentators beat it into the ground with a heated bench in the late 1990s. Problem is, sportscasters continue to drag out the cliché like a tired looking 40 year old who continues to dress like she did in her twenties. The look is there, but the sizzle and substance are missing.

Parity, when it comes to sports, was a hypothesis born out of the NFL's rapid decline of dominant teams in the late 1990s.