THE MORE things change, the more they really change.
Let's say you graduated high school in 2005, then left the Philadelphia region for college or maybe military service, lost touch with the sports goings-on and recently returned.
If you look on this page and examine the schedule for Saturday's Public League basketball quarterfinals, you'll injure your head from scratching it so hard.
Of the eight schools that will participate, only two were part of the Pub when you last resided here, and only one, John Bartram, is a true veteran.
Two others (Samuel Fels, Roberts Vaux) are former middle schools, another (Communications Tech) was once part of Bartram in an annexy kind of way; one more (Constitution) was recently added to the School District as a special-admit option; and the other three (Math, Civics and Sciences, Boys' Latin and Philadelphia Electrical & Technology) are charters.
Experience? Well, Fels joined the Pub for the 1992-93 season. Of the other newbies, Comm Tech and PET are the co-graybeards at seven seasons. MC&S and Vaux have six apiece, while BL (four) and Constitution (three) are lagging behind.
The league's most talked about player will be on display in the 3 o'clock game at Southern. He's Constitution forward Savon Goodman, who six times this season has scored more than 40 points and probably could dunk on a 12-foot basket. Having backed out of a Villanova commitment, he's again being stalked by programs from across the nation.
Can't wait until Saturday to see some good hoops? Hey, that's why they invented the Catholic League.
The CL's quarterfinals will take place Friday afternoon and evening, and you probably can catch two.
The only afternoon game - Archbishop Wood at St. Joseph's Prep, at 3:30 - could become noteworthy because Prep coach William "Speedy" Morris will be trying to tie the city mark for victories at 621. The current recordholder is Dan Dougherty, former boss at Malvern Prep and Episcopal Academy.
Based on seeds, the most competitive night game should be No. 5 Archbishop Ryan vs. No. 4 Roman Catholic at Philadelphia University, 7 o'clock start.
CITY LEAGUE PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
CATHOLIC LEAGUE/QUARTERFINALS
(Games listed in bracket order)
O'Hara (8) at Neumann-Goretti (1), 7
Ryan (5) vs. Roman (4), 7 (Phila. University)
La Salle (7) at Carroll (2), 7
Wood (6) at SJ Prep (3), 3:30 (time corrected)
SATURDAY
PUBLIC LEAGUE/QUARTERFINALS
(Classification finals)
At Ben Franklin
AA: Vaux vs. Comm Tech, 1
AAA: Boys' Latin vs. Phila. Elec., 3
At Southern
AAAA: Bartram vs. Fels, 1
A: MC&S vs. Constitution, 3
TUESDAY
PUBLIC LEAGUE/SEMIFINALS
(Doubleheader at Southern)
AAAA vs. A (6 or 7:45, TBA)
AA vs. AAA (6 or 7:45, TBA)
WEDNESDAY
CATHOLIC LEAGUE/SEMIFINALS
(At the Palestra)
O'Hara (8)/N-G (1) vs. Ryan (5)/Roman (4), 7
La Salle (7)/Carroll (2), vs. Wood (6)/SJP (3), 8:30
SATURDAY, FEB. 25
PUBLIC LEAGUE/FINAL
(At Southern; site may change)
Teams TBA, 3
MONDAY, FEB. 27
CATHOLIC LEAGUE/FINAL
(At the Palestra)
Girls, 6:45 & Boys, 8:15
