Rivalry games

he Yankees and Boston. The Cowboys and the Redskins. Auburn and Alabama. Michigan and Michigan State. Texas and Texas A&M. Bobcats and Cougars.

Ah, ha! You recognized all but the final entry. Make that the Edinburg Bobcats and the Edinburg North Cougars. They're 5A, big-school, cross-town rivals in the city where I've lived for the past 33 years. At the latest renewal of their rivalry, the Bobcats were 3-0 in conference play; Cougars, 2-1. A tie for first is in the offing for North.

That afternoon, the weather channel reported that wind was gusting to 51 mph, with a steady "breeze" from the northwest at 36. According to Google, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines a gale as sustained, surface winds of 39 to 54 mph. It’s dangerous to play with a hard ball under such conditions.

At 5:00 p.m. I called Nicky, the coach of the home-standing Cougars. He said: "We’re gonna play." We chatted a moment, and I reminded him that if the umpires believed the weather was hazardous, we’d postpone the game at once.

Continued...