Pick a slogan, any slogan.

Up for grabs.

Flip a coin.

Anything can happen.

Idle, tired phrases? Perhaps.

At the Columbia City basketball sectional, you can add one more word: idle, tired and true phrases.

This sectional seemed balanced last year with 15-5 Whitko, 14-6 Manchester, 11-9 Tippecanoe Valley, 9-10 Columbia City, 9-11 Central Noble and 2-18 Churubusco. Whitko ended up winning the title.

Then you look at that sectional this year: 12-7 Central Noble, 12-8 Manchester, 10-10 Tippecanoe Valley, 10-10 Whitko, 9-10 Columbia City and 6-13 Churubusco.

Now that's balance. If these teams were ice cream, they'd be vanilla.

Their combined records? 59-58.

One game over .500. Yeah, the teams were a combined 60-59 the year before. The difference is the parity. Thirteen wins separated Whitko and Churubusco last year.

Six wins separate Central Noble and Churubusco this season.

Then you have the Warsaw Sectional. You have the 16-4 Warsaw Tigers at the top. You have the 0-20 Rochester Zebras at the bottom.

Let's face it: This sectional championship will be decided in the second game Thursday night. That is, if Warsaw and 15-5 Triton meet. Warsaw will have to get by 10-9 Argos today, and Triton will have to get by winless Rochester.

At least one coach has told us we should pick games. Several other papers do it, he told me. Why don't you?

I don't know why. We just never have. Not in the paper, anyway.

Until now.

Fellow sports writers, Jason Knavel and Greg Jones, joined in.

First up is the Columbia City Sectional, followed by the Warsaw Sectional.

Manchester - Whitko:

My pick - Manchester.

Whoa. When's the last time these two rivals met to open the sectional? They usually pound on each other in the second or third round. Manchester beat Northfield 75-73 on Friday to win the Three Rivers Conference title. The Squires are playing well. The Whitko Wildcats have the best player on either team, Zach Henson.

Team versus one-man team. Manchester beats Whitko. Whitko finishes 10-11, its first season in school history below .500. Will Dave Henson stay or will he go?

Jason Knavel - Whitko.

Greg Jones - Manchester.

Columbia City - Churubusco:

My pick - Columbia City.

Columbia City has lost five of its last six. Churubusco has won three of the last four.

So?

Throw away the key. This one's a lock.

Jason Knavel - Columbia City.

Greg Jones - Columbia City.

Tippecanoe Valley - Central Noble:

My pick - Tippecanoe Valley.

Central Noble has the best record and a seven-game win streak, but no one talks about these Cougars. Their seven losses weren't to slouches, either. They lost to 20-1 East Noble, 15-5 Angola, 15-5 Fremont (twice), 15-5 Bethany Christian, 10-10 Whitko and 9-10 Westview.

The Tippecanoe Valley Vikings went 3-8 against .500 or better teams. They had two starters - Jeff Brown, Nick Stutzman - suspended just weeks ago. Team chemistry seemed a little rocky.

No longer. Valley is the wild card. This team is back at full force.

Jason Knavel - Central Noble.

Greg Jones - Tippecanoe Valley.

Manchester - Columbia City:

My pick - Columbia City over Manchester.

This could be the best game of the sectional. Columbia City beat Manchester 51-49 on a buzzer-beating layup in December. Columbia City showed how to beat the Squires the first time: Shut them down inside and force their guards to beat you by making their perimeter shots. Manchester scored just 16 of the 49 in the paint.

Or, you can flip a coin. Heads is Manchester, tails is Columbia City.

Tails.

Greg Jones - Columbia City over Manchester.

Whitko - Columbia City

Jason Knavel - Whitko over Columbia City.

Championship:

My pick - Columbia City over Tippecanoe Valley.

Columbia City has beaten Valley four times in a row, dating back to the 1994-1995 season. The Eagles have also knocked Valley out of the last two sectionals. Make it five wins and three sectionals.

Columbia City is 9-10, but the Eagles played one of the best schedules around. They lost to the likes of 20-1 East Noble, 20-3 DeKalb, 17-3 Carroll (Allen), 16-4 Warsaw and 16-4 Bluffton, among others.

Jason Knavel - Whitko over C.Noble.

Greg Jones - Tippecanoe Valley over Columbia City.

Argos - Warsaw:

My pick - Warsaw.

Maybe small school Argos gets off to a good start and throws the tiniest scare into big school Warsaw. Maybe that adrenaline and emotion lasts half of the first quarter.

Jason Knavel - Warsaw.

Greg Jones - Warsaw.

Rochester - Triton:

My pick - Triton over Rochester.

The records say it's all Triton. But Rochester will be energized. Seldom do adrenaline and emotion carry a team to a win.

Go with the records.

Jason Knavel - Triton.

Greg Jones - Triton.

Culver Military Academy - Wawasee:

My pick - Wawasee.

The shocker of the year: CMA 80, South Bend Washington 67. But CMA is 8-11. Which team will show up? My guess is the 8-11 team.

Wawasee has won three of four and is playing its best ball of the year.

Jason Knavel - Wawasee.

Greg Jones - Wawasee.

Triton - Warsaw:

My pick - Warsaw over Triton.

Triton starts nobody taller than 6 feet. Warsaw has 6-foot-4 Tom Krizmanich and 6-6 Luke Reed. Triton has hidden its height as a weakness all year. Warsaw exposes it.

Three weeks ago, I would have said Triton. But Triton has stumbled at the end. Triton shot 42 percent or worse in three of the last four games, and the Trojans live and die by the perimeter shot. They are 2-2 in those games, and the losses are to Whitko and Bethany Christian.

If you can't beat Whitko or Bethany Christian, you won't beat the Tigers on their home floor during the tournament.

Jason Knavel - Warsaw over Triton.

Greg Jones - Warsaw over Triton.

Championship:

My pick - Warsaw over Wawasee.

Warsaw gets by Triton. Warsaw beats Wawasee.

Jason Knavel - Warsaw over Wawasee.

Greg Jones - Warsaw over Wawasee. [[In-content Ad]]