So maybe you're a member of a Western Class B or Class C girls' basketball tournament team. Have you felt left out? The tournaments started Friday and you didn't play. Saturday, same thing. Monday, ditto.

Everyone else has gotten those tournament jitters out of their system. But you? You've had to wait. So eagerly.

Know what? Tuesday is your day. Four games in Class B at the Portland Expo, four in Class C at the Augusta Civic Center. Two in the afternoon, two at night. And by the time 10:30 or so rolls around Tuesday night, when Wells and Lake Region turn out the lights in Portland, and Georges Valley and Madison do the same in Augusta, an important milestone will have been reached.

All of the semifinalists in Western Maine, boys and girls, will have been determined. And then the real fun begins because in class after class, the word this season has been parity. The one-sided games figure to be over. It's sit back and enjoy time.

And before we forget, here's a thank-you to the Portland Expo, that crusty old warehouse of an arena next door to Hadlock Field. Sure, the place smells of hot dogs past and the acoustics make what-did-he-say the most popular question around. But the place does have atmosphere and a whole lot of history. And it will all be missing starting Wednesday when the tournaments shift to that lifeless mausoleum known as the Cumberland County Civic Center.

Even so … enjoy.