It's raining more than threes

As I sat at my desk this morning thinking of excuses not to venture out into the dreadful winter downpour outside, a text came in from my editor, a witness to dozens of basketball sectional weeks over the years.

"Good old sectional rain," he wrote.

Ah, yes, sectional rain ... or sectional snow ... or sectional ice storm ...

Or sectional that thing where it's not quite snow, not quite rain, not quite sleet, but it makes getting to the games a harrowing experience.

Late winter in Indiana coincides with (almost) March Madness, and it makes for adventures when it comes to traveling to the games.

I'm not sure why we even trouble ourselves with complaining about it or even talking about it. It's Feb. 26 -- all possibilities are on the table. Would any of us be shocked if it's 67 degrees tomorrow?

That's how it was for girls' basketball sectional my senior year of high school. My buddies and I watched our classmates drop their opening round game at Southmont before driving home and playing a couple of games of driveway basketball and going home for the night.

Of course, it appears the temps are headed the other direction, which is probably the way it should be.

I just hope it will still be cold enough for snow when Saturday comes. It seems like the perfect reward for a team that wins sectional -- a celebratory snowball fight before getting back to the business of preparing for regional.