Giving thanks for hoop season

This year's basketball season crept up faster than 10 extra holiday pounds. Which is why our girls basketball preview is a bit belated.
Our boys basketball preview isn't officially late yet. (But trust me, it will be.)
Nonetheless, this is a day for giving thanks, and there are a lot of reasons to be thankful for basketball season.
UNo more standing (or sitting) out in the cold for cross country meets and soccer games.
UNo more phone calls from readers complaining that their football team was buried on the inside of the newspaper. (Of course, those calls will be replaced by readers complaining that we buried their basketball team on the inside.)
UNo more bad football quotes. We'll get bad basketball quotes now. So instead of hearing, "We need to control the line of scrimmage and cut down on our mistakes," we'll hear, "We need to control the tempo and cut down on our mistakes."
Don't get me wrong; I love fall. It's the best time of the year -- no matter what Bing Crosby says (or sings).
Top 10 list
But there are a lot of reasons to be excited about basketball season. Here are my top 10.
1. Boardman junior Amber Bland. The reigning Division I player of the year could probably score 50 points in every game. (Although Boardman coach Ron Moschella only let her score 49 in the Spartans' 114-31 win against Struthers last Saturday. He doesn't want people to think he runs up the score.)
2. Moschella. After an offseason where he retired and unretired for the 56th time, Moschella has a secret weapon for this year -- hot tea. He sometimes lost his voice at the end of games last year and the soothing heat will help him scream straight through the fourth quarter.
3. Ursuline's pepperoni rolls. Maybe not as good as grandma's turkey dinner, but still pretty fantastic.
4. Ursuline junior Courtney Davidson. Her jump shot is sweeter than the apple pie you shouldn't be eating right now. Of course, it's not quite as good as the pepperoni rolls. Some things are sacred.
5. Springfield boys basketball coach Jeff Brink. Brink -- whose favorite clothing colors are black, black and black -- has left most Inter-County League teams red-faced the past three years. The Tigers have a 32-game (regular season) ICL winning streak and return the league's best player, senior forward Dan Schuler. The only thing better than Springfield games are the post-game interviews. The Tigers could be ranked No. 1 in the country and Brink would insist they don't get enough respect world-wide.
6. Warren Harding. Don't get me wrong; I love watching jump shots and layups. But it's nice to see a dunk or two. Or three. Or four...
7. Rayen-Wilson boys basketball games. There are better student sections (and better games, for that matter), but for overall fan entertainment, nothing beats this rivalry. You'll hear a lot of things yelled from the stands (some of them unprintable), but you'll never hear anyone agree with a referee's call -- unless it's against the other team. And Rayen's cheerleaders are the best in the area.
8. Canfield boys basketball coach John Cullen. Best coach in the area. Nobody gets more out of his players.
9. Sebring boys basketball. They play two sports in Sebring: basketball and offseason basketball.
10. Mooney's Curtis Ingram, Fitch's Greg Mayes, Poland's Neil Harris, Liberty's Bradley Fletcher, Howland's Darcy Quinlan, Western Reserve's Anna Marie Ricciardi and Newton Falls' Desiree Sterling.
All of them are worth the price of admission.
XJoe Scalzo is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at scalzo@vindy.com.