Tuesday may have been the first official day of the state girls soccer tournament, but as far as Kosmo is concerned. The tournament will really begin in earnest on Thursday. There are two huge rivalries games, starting with Rochester against Rochester Adams at 5 p.m. at Swinehart Field in Utica. Rochester actually upset Adams during the regular season and has a great goalie in Stephanie Heber, so that should be a battle. The same rings true for a district semifinal on Thursday at Northville, which will host rival Novi in what could be a de facto state title game at 7 p.m. Novi did not score against Northville in two regular season meetings ( one was a 1-0 Northville win and the other a 0-0 tie), so we'll see if the two-time defending state champs can get on track offensively against the Mustangs. Kosmo can't wait to see what happens in both these games.

If the rest of the state tournament in baseball, softball and soccer is anything like Tuesday's first day, than we're in for quite a ride over the next few weeks. Once again, the fickle and unpredictable nature of baseball was shown with the near eliminations of county powers Lake Orion and Birmingham Brother Rice. In any other sports, good times like those would have little trouble rolling along. Instead, both the Dragons and Warriors in baseball had to stage seventh-inning rallies just to avoid being knocked out in the first round. Also, credit has to be given to Pontiac, which took Troy Athens to 13 innings before falling. In soccer, another mini-upset occurred, as Stoney Creek knocked off Utica Eisenhower in overtime, 3-2. Great job by the Cougars and this means an Oakland County team will assuredly advance out of this district now with a power like Eisenhower gone. There weren't any major upsets in softball, but Lake Orion and North Farmington played solid games to record wins over Waterford Mott and Farmington, respectively. It was a great start to what should be an outstanding few weeks.

It's hard to believe since it just seems like yesterday that football practice started in August, but the final important leg of the 2011-12 high school sports season has arrived. The final three weeks are arguably the best of all, since the playoffs for baseball, softball and girls soccer started on Tuesday to kick off what should be an action pack stretch run. Kosmo has heard rumors over the past couple of years that the MHSAA is considering going to five sports seasons instead of three, which would put baseball, softball and soccer back a couple of weeks to where their seasons would end in late June. That's actually not a bad idea, but if there is one drawback, it's that it takes away from the magic of the final three weeks of the season. There definitely is no time like this time, when high school campuses are buzzing with baseball, softball, girls soccer and lacrosse games and teams are preparing for the state track and tennis finals, which will be held on Saturday. With seniors pretty much done with school, it's also the only time of year where they can focus exclusively on athletics, which should heighten their performances in the coming weeks. It's a finishing run to the season like no other, so even if the seasons are one day changed, Kosmo hopes it can preserved somewhat.

This weekend there won't be a lot of meaningful games around the county since it's the holiday weekend and teams are simply tuning up for the start of the state playoffs in baseball, softball and soccer on Tuesday. But there will be one notable event in Rochester, as the Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest and Rochester baseball teams will play a doubleheader that'll also double as a cancer fundraiser. Teams will be wearing pink jerseys and have various fundraising events surrounding the game to support cancer research. It's supposed to be a nice day, so if you're out and about in Rochester on Saturday afternoon, head over to see some good baseball and support a worthy cause. - This should be an entertaining week around the halls at Troy and Troy Athens, because they're rivalry will be renewed playoff style in a couple of different sports. The Red Hawks and Colts will open up the state soccer tournament with a pre-district game at Troy on Tuesday, while the softball teams will play in what should be a hotly contested district semifinal at Athens on June 2. - Brother Rice and Lake Orion are typically the two best baseball programs in the county year in and year out, but both area powers got difficult draws for districts next week. Each drew a pre-district game on Tuesday and will have to deal with hungry opponents ready to pull upsets. We'll see how the Warriors and Dragons respond

Kosmo has figured Sara Barron was a special kind of athlete, and there was recently validation of that once again. A senior at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Barron was named the Catholic League's Female Athlete of the Year, which is quite an honor given the Catholic League has over 17,000 students. Barron is one of the state's top track runners in the 800 and 1600 meters, winning the Division 2 state title in the 800 meters last year. In cross country, Barron finished eighth last Fall at the state meet. It's no doubt a great choice by the Catholic League, and it makes it a clean sweep from an Oakland County perspective since Matt Doneth of Novi Detroit Catholic Central was named the Male Athlete of the Year winner. Usually, those awards are handed out at the Catholic League baseball finals at Comerica Park, and if the same is true this year, then Barron and Doneth will be on hand to receive their awards on Thursday. It should be quite a night for Oakland County with Barron and Doneth receiving their awards, Madison Heights Bishop Foley playing in the CHSL C-D title game at 5 p.m. and Birmingham Brother Rice competing in the A-B final at 7 p.m.

This week the state lacrosse tournament kicks into full gear for teams around the area, and Kosmo wants to give a shout out to one team in particular for what they've done off and on the field this year. The Clarkston boys lacrosse team won the OAA Red title this year and is the No. 3 seed in its region, where the Wolves will host a playoff game on Friday. Clarkston has also had the following milestones happen this season: - On May 12, the Wolves raised $15,000 for the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Pontiac Cancer Research Center in their annual Game For A Cure. - On May 15, Clarkston head coach Brian Kaminskas won his 200th career game. - Senior Jordan Kincaid scored his 100th career goal last month, becoming the first player in school history to do so. - Four players have signed to play lacrosse in college. Kevin O'Grady, Ethan Frick and Travis Craft all signed with Albion, while Nick Dematta signed with Detroit Mercy. It's no doubt been a special season already for the Wolves, and there's a good chance it'll become even more special in the next couple of weeks.

We're winding down towards the playoffs for the spring sports season, and there might not be a bigger day in the last couple weeks of the regular season than Saturday, particularly in the Catholic League. At Madonna University, the CHSL baseball semifinals will take place, where five county teams will compete. In the C-D semis, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes will meet Allen Park Cabrini in one semifinal at 10 a.m., while Madison Heights Bishop Foley and Royal Oak Shrine will meet in the other at noon. Then at 4 p.m., Birmingham Brother Rice and Orchard Lake St. Mary's will meet in an A-B semifinal. The winners will advance to the league finals on Thursday at Comerica Park. Then at Livonia Ladywood, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes-Clarkston Everest Collegiate will meet in the CHSL C-D girls soccer championship game at noon, which will be followed by the A-B final between Birmingham Marian and Livonia Ladywood at 2 p.m. No doubt a big day in the mighty Catholic League. - A couple notes from the basketball world. First, Madison Heights Lamphere is in need of a new boys basketball after Simon Bato recently stepped down after one season to accept the head girls basketball job at Troy. Second, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood star point guard Sterling Morrow finally has a college destination. He will be playing at Lake Forest College in Illinois

Wednesday will be one of the more important dates on the calendar for the boys golf season when the Oakland County Division 1 boys golf tournament will take place at Pontiac Country Club, which is typically the host site. This tournament will be interesting because it'll be a chance for defending county champion and Division 4 state champion Auburn Hills Oakland Christian to see how it fares against some of the elite teams in upper Divisions, namely Brother Rice, Catholic Central and Lake Orion. The Lancers proved last year they belonged with those teams by winning the county tournament, but they weren't at a couple recent big tournaments, the Holiday Inn Express-Birmingham Invitational or the Azure Dynamics Boys Golf Invitational at Oakland Hills North last week. We'll see how Oakland Christian fares on Wednesday. Also, we'll see if North Farmington senior Max Kollin can defend the county title he won last year. Also the defending Division 1 state champion, Kollin was the medalist at the Azure Dynamics tournament and is a good bet to repeat as county champion in what will be a loaded field. The weather is supposed to be summer-like as well, so it'll be a good chance for any golf fan to go out and see some quality golf all day long. - In addition to golf, Wednesday will be a big day for baseball and softball teams. A couple of doubleheaders jump to mind in particular. Lake Orion and Stoney Creek will play at Stoney Creek in a baseball doubleheader that will likely determine who wins the OAA Red Division, while in softball, Troy Athens and Rochester will play a doubleheader at Rochester that will settle who wins the OAA White. Should be a big day.

A week after one premier regular season softball tournament took place, the Michigan Stars Tournament, another will be held this weekend in Royal Oak when the annual Fred Pieper softball tournament takes place. While not as many teams in it as the Stars, there should be plenty of good games and teams on display. For one, Lakeland will be at the Pieper tournament after not competing in the Stars tournament. Warren Regina, Troy Athens, Waterford Mott, Walled Lake Central and Walled Lake Northern are other teams that will be in the 16-team field. Saturday will be pool play, with the championship round being held on Sunday at Memorial Park in Royal Oak. - The first sign that the state tournaments for spring sports are right around the corner is this weekend, when league meets will be held for both track and tennis teams around the area. Next week, track and tennis will have their regional events, so the most important time of year for those sports has already arrived.

Throughout the past four years, Kosmo has thoroughly enjoyed watching Matt Doneth play sports at Catholic Central, whether it was as a fine pass-catching and run-blocking tight end on the football team or a skilled, gritty frontcourt player on the basketball team. All that makes Kosmo even happier to find out that Doneth has been selected as this year's Catholic League Male Athlete of the Year, which is no small honor. Doneth was selected from a pool of nearly 30 high schools and thousands of athletes, so it definitely is one to cherish and one that's deserved. - At the beginning of the year, North Farmington junior pitcher Sterling Sharp seemed to be struggling a little bit and some probably wondered why he was such a highly regarded prospect. Well, now people are finding out. Sharp has been on fire the past month of the season and tossed another beauty on Wednesday, shutting out rival Farmington on just three hits allowed. Look for more college and even pro scouts to be keeping an eye out on Sharp the rest of the season.

Just when Kosmo thinks he has the OAA Red soccer race figured out, a night like Tuesday comes along. Rochester Adams and Troy appeared to be the untouchable teams in the OAA Red, and they still might be the best bets (along with Novi)from the area to win a Division 1 state title. But Tuesday certainly wasn't a good night for either the Highlanders or Colts. Adams was drilled at home by Stoney Creek, losing 4-1 in suffering its first league loss. Lots of credit to the Cougars for playing such an inspired game. Ditto for Rochester, which a couple miles up the road knocked off Troy, 1-0. It's hard enough to beat Troy, let alone shut them out with all the firepower the Colts have (most notably Irene Young). It certainly threw a wrench in the league title race in what's the county's most premier league, which means it'll be an exciting finish. - There is a lot of attention placed on the sophomore class for Birmingham Brother Rice's baseball team, and rightfully so with how talented they are. But it should be noted the Warriors might have the state's best freshman as well in Nick Plummer. That was proven again on Wednesday when Plummer blasted a 3-run home run in the top of the seventh to help the Warriors beat Orchard Lake St. Mary's in the second game of a doubleheader. - This is somewhat old news, but a couple of weeks ago Lake Orion sophomore pitcher Brad Schaenzer was offered a scholarship already by Michigan State. That isn't seen often, which speaks to the ability of Schaenzer. Combine him with stud Nick Deeg, and the Dragons have the best duo of left-handed starters in the area and possibly the state.

Kosmo was reading Keith Dunlap's baseball/softball quick hits over the weekend and agreed with his assessment that the Royal Oak Shrine softball team is enjoying a tremendous season. The only thing was that Keith neglected the other hardball team at the school. The Shrine baseball team also has been a hit this season, accumulating a 10-4 record in the Catholic League C-D Division and is in the midst of a great three-team race with Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood. Shrine was an area Division 4 power in the middle of last decade, including when it made the state championship game in 2003. It's been a nice Renaissance for the Knights and has made Shrine one of the better schools for both baseball and softball this spring. - Kosmo is also looking forward to Tuesday when one of his favorite soccer rivalries is renewed between Northville and Novi. These two are powerhouses each and every year and it's always enjoyable when they meet. Northville won the first meeting, so Kosmo knows the Wildcats will be ready for redemption

As many probably know, there is a new all girls Catholic High School that opened up this year in Wixom, St. Catherine of Siena Academy. Next year the athletic program will fully get in gear, and Kosmo has heard through the grapevine that the school has made a hire for its girls basketball program. St. Catherine has hired Steve Larkin, who was the head girls basketball coach at West Bloomfield, to take over the program. While Larkin won't have the abilities of Sydni Davis at St. Catherine, he gets the luxury of essentially starting a program from scratch. It's a good hire and Kosmo wishes Larkin and St. Catherine all the best. Welcome to the world of Oakland County athletics and Kosmo is looking forward to forecasting your girls basketball games soon. - This weekend, arguably the most prestigious regular season softball tournament will take place when the annual Michigan Stars tournament is held at Bicentennial Park in Grand Blanc. The only hindrance though is all the rain that hit the area on Thursday night that could affect the 48-team tournament. There were flooding problems in Grand Blanc, but fortunately, the weather forecast this weekend is good (67 degrees and sunny both days) and the tournament should still go on.

Believe it or not, we're only a few weeks away from the state tournaments beginning from spring sports teams, and Kosmo had this thought as he was sitting in his cave the other night. It's possible Oakland County schools could sweep the state titles in all four Divisions in both girls soccer and girls tennis. It might seem like a lot to ask, but it's not that farfetched. In tennis, defending state champion Clarkston in Division 1, Birmingham Marian or Birmingham Seaholm in Division 2, Birmingham Detroit Country Day or Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in Division 3 and Bloomfield Hills Sacred Heart in Division 4 all have great chances to win it all. Then we move on to soccer. In Division 1, there are all sorts of powerhouses in the area, with Troy, Rochester Adams and Novi among the best in not only the state, but the country. Birmingham Marian is always a threat to win in Division 2, and ditto for Country Day in Division 3. In Division 4, the county is home to the last two state champions, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes/Clarkston Everest Collegiate and Madison Heights Bishop Foley. Both those teams are talented enough to win titles again this year. Again, it's darn near impossible for one small pocket of the state to sweep state titles in any sport. It might not happen, but Kosmo is saying don't be too surprised if it happens in girls soccer and tennis a few weeks from now.