Today's Sports

It was 8 degrees above freezing when I went out this morning, and Our Evergreen World was shimmering with hoarfrost. Every, twig, stem and pine needle was encrusted with diamonds. Our entire landscape shimmered like Tiffany’s window. Backlit by the rising sun, each tree and shrub was a scintillating piece of jewelry.

EVERGREEN — Good teams are like art museums. They represent talent and inspire outsiders to dream of ways of finding a weakness to plunder.

Against rival Evergreen, the Conifer Lobos got a long dose of physical, grinding girls basketball in a tournament-like atmosphere. And they passed with flying colors – even if those colors might be black and blue.

The Lobos made their one run count in the second quarter as they built and maintained a comfortable lead Feb. 11 for a 46-34 Class 4A Jefferson County League victory before a packed house.

Aside from the usual nuthatches, chickadees, woodpeckers, siskins and juncos, there haven’t been many unusual birds around this winter. I have had several Townsend’s solitaries reported, crows and magpies, and a few red-winged blackbirds, but nothing really unusual or exciting. The red-winged blackbirds seem to be a remnant of birds that never left last fall. They have stayed on at the lake because there are plenty of feeders available in the area, and they return to the lake every evening to roost in the cattails overnight.

Initially, Ryan Haebe was all about basketball.

With a father, Scott, serving as Evergreen’s varsity boys coach, it’s easy to understand why Haebe’s first focus would be on hoops.

And, to that end, Haebe has fared well for himself on the hardcourt; he’s the Cougars’ starting point guard this season.

But, when Haebe graduates in a few months and then dashes off to college, his basketball career will come to an end.

His athletic career, though, will only be just beginning.