Ka-chew.

'Zundheit.

That was the sound heard around the Greely girls' basketball team when the regular season ended 10 days ago. Sickness and the regular aches and pains of a long season were all over the place. Nothing the Rangers couldn't handle but still, a layoff would do nothing but help.

While some teams, especially those with a 16-2 record, would rather keep on truckin' to the state final, having 10 days off was just fine for the Rangers.

"We had a lot of sickness, colds and flu," said junior forward Abby Young, who had one more thing added during the 38-27 victory Tuesday against Lake Region -- a bloody nose.

"I know I missed one of the scrimmages and a couple of practices."

She's fine and so is the team, which is seeking its first regional championship since 2004 with a giant hurdle in undefeated York awaitin' down the road.

"The layoff was good because we also got to work on our weaknesses," said Coach Bill Goodman. "We had the two scrimmages (against Windham and Waynflete) and the girls really learned what to work on, especially on defense. All year I've played a lot of girls and our motto has been, 'Be ready.' Today they were ready. Everyone knows that everything we do starts with defense."

Lake Region, which had a three-year regional championship reign end, didn't have as much of a layoff because it played a prelim game against Fryeburg Academy. Still, the week between games helped.

"Normally I wouldn't care but it was a perfect time for us because we had some sicknesses," said Coach Paul True.

Even though Class B girls was the last of the classes in Western Maine to play its quarterfinals, True said he kept away from the other tournament games, except to cheer on the Lake Region boys in their victory Saturday against Mountain Valley. He also decided against scheduling a scrimmage.

"I'm not a big believer in playing 100 games," he said. "I think we can get just as much done by ourselves in our own gym."

*****

Yes, that was John Wolfgram, the football coaching legend for Gardiner and South Portland who now heads the Cheverus program, officiating Expo games Saturday in Class B boys and Tuesday in Class B girls.

Would have been interesting to learn how much Wolfgram enjoys officiating and better yet, whether he ever considered coaching basketball. But alas, he said the Maine Principals' Association won't allow him to talk about basketball during the tournaments.

*****

As if the Western Class A boys' semifinals tonight at the Cumberland County Civic Center need more of a subplot, there's the Ian Barwise meets the Stags again storyline.

Barwise, who can be a force underneath as well as roam the perimeter, was a key component for Cheverus last season when it burst past unbeaten, untested and never-knew-what-hit-'em Bangor in the second half of the Class A state final.

New year, and no Barwise for the Stags. He left Cheverus, surfaced at Thornton Academy, and wouldn't you know, will meet his old buddies in the regional semifinals.

Hard feelings? Sorta doubt it. After Cheverus had a relatively easy time beating the Trojans in Saco a few weeks ago, one of the Stags said, "He was a good teammate."

Don't expect a cage match, but it still will be interesting to watch the dynamics and body language.

--Hal Madsen

One of the best days in Maine sports is also one of the most unknown.

Every President's Day, without fail, the Eastern Class D basketball tournament opens at the Bangor Auditorium. It's an event that shows what many call the real Maine is all about.

There's an allure to Eastern Class D basketball that the West can't match. On a holiday Monday morning, for a boys' game between Shead of Eastport and Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook that started at 9:35, a line snaked outside the Auditorium more than a half-hour before tipoff.

By the time the crowd was settled, the lower and second portions of the Auditorium were all but jammed, with others scattered into the third level of the four-level building.

That's more than 2,000 people. For a Class D basketball game. At 9:30 in the morning.

There's more. There were cheerleaders and bands, both of which have largely gone the way of the dinosaur in the West. And there's community spirit, the type that usually only comes through in Rockwell paintings.

There were radio stations, what looked like six of them doing a game between teams from two schools that have an enrollment of 273 between them. Know how many radio stations regularly broadcast games in Greater Portland? None. Zero. zilch.

Yes, Western Maine schools have their community support. Yet somehow it's different. There seems to be reasons for supporting a team in Western Maine. In the East, it's because the school is there, and that's the way it's been done for generations.

It's old-school support, even if the school is relatively new. And it also shows in the results. In state championship games, Eastern Class D boys hold a 36-17 advantage against the West since the class began as Class S in 1956, and that's counting the six straight that Valley won for the West from 1998 to 2003.

And it's not just the boys. A couple of girls' games at the Auditorium drew about 1,500 fans in the afternoon, prompting one Maine Principals' Association official to marvel, "We don't get crowds like these for the Class B and C games."

There were at least four radio stations doing the girls' games. In the girls' Class D state finals that started in 1975, the East holds a 27-7 edge.

It's fun and entertaining. Not just the basketball, which had kids giving their all, no matter what level their all may be, but the fans and their enthusiasm. One President's Day morning some years back, a Jonesport-Beals fan stood and yelled, "Hit them hoopers, Raymond!"

That's not meant to denigrate. The fans have a high level of basketball intelligence and aren't afraid to show it, yelling at a coach one time Monday to revert from a zone back to a man-to-man because "time's a-wastin'." And reminding a player to jump straight to go for a block. And letting the officials, in a relatively proper manner, of course, that a certain call may not have been the right call.

All fun.

Have next President's Day booked yet?

-- Hal Madsen

Phil Leighton knew. Step by excrutiating step, he could retrace the evolution of the Lake Region boys' basketball team during his four years.

Leighton, a senior forward, remembers that the Lakers didn't make the tournament when he was a freshman. As a sophomore they lost in the prelim round. As a junior they lost in the quarterfinals.

Now he's a senior and wouldn't you know, one more step. And a big one. Before he graduates, Leighton is going to play a basketball game at the Cumberland County Civic Center, in the semifinals of the Western Class B tournament.

Leighton scored 17 points Saturday in the 61-52 victory for the sixth-seeded Lakers against third-ranked Mountain Valley at the Portland Expo, then was a 6-foot-1 bundle of joy in the corridor outside the locker room after the game.

"It just feels so great," he said. "This is our first time at the Civic Center and we're really excited."

Mike Francoeur has coached at the Civic Center before, including leading a Deering High team with Nik Caner-Medley, Jamal Caterina and the boys that may have been the best not to win the state title.

But that was then, this is now and yes, he's as excited as his kids. Truth to tell, the road should end against Falmouth in the semifinals, but like Franceour told his kids, "We're playing for the chance to play for the Western Maine championship. I'm real proud of these kids. Really proud of them."

And that's it right there. Pride. Whether it's Lake Region living up to potential or Biddeford somehow taking can't-be-beaten Cheverus to the final minutes or Buckfield making top-ranked Forest Hills sweat through an overtime in Western Class D, it's all about pride.

There was plenty of it Saturday at the Expo, not just with Lake Region but with other teams looking to stretch seasons.

And doing it one step at a time.

--Hal Madsen