It all began Monday night with the opening round of the girls basketball districts.

For the next two weeks, I will be busier than any other time in high school sports, which is kind of strange considering winter has the least amount of sports.

Even though there are just a handful of winter sports, the girls basketball districts, individual wrestling state finals and bowling state finals dominate the landscape for the first six days.

Oh, and for added fun, there are still a few boys basketball regular-season games to be played this week, including one that will decide the BCS Athletic Conference Red Division championship.

The second week is filled with boys district basketball and girls regional competition. That means there will be games every night, Monday through Friday for the reporters and photographers of Leader Publications to cover.

Some of you might think I am complaining, but in reality, I am saying just the opposite. It may be the busiest two weeks of the entire sports year, but it is also the most exciting two weeks with state titles, regular-season division titles and district titles to be decided this week.

Then, we will hand out some regional hardware to —hopefully some of our local teams.

If you are trying to decide which girls district to go and watch, I can honestly tell you that the Buchanan district will be the most competitive with four teams out of the six with a realistic shot at winning the championship.

Defending champion Edwardsburg and Wolverine Conference South Division co-champion Three Rivers are the favorites at Buchanan. Do not count out Niles and host Buchanan, who are the dark horses in this field. Both have enough talent to come away with a title.

Meanwhile, over at Cassopolis, Brandywine is the clear favorite with its 19-1 record and its tradition of winning titles.

I would expect the Bobcats to be double-digit favorites in each game they play in. I do not see anyone else even coming close to upsetting Brandywine and keeping it from yet another trip to the Division 3 regionals.

I want to encourage everyone to get out to either Buchanan or Cassopolis this week and catch some district basketball action. It will be worth your time. Besides, it is not every year districts are located as close as they are this season.

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com.