Usually, by the time postseason tournaments begin, you want to be at your best by the time the loser-out games start.

However, it's not only the players that need to be at their best when that time comes.

LAST FRIDAY, I made the trip down to Lewiston for the opening night of the 5A Region 1 tournament at Booth Hall.

Considering it had been almost 10 years since I've traveled to Lewiston, I made sure to leave a little bit early as the first games were starting around 5:45 and I didn't want to miss a second.

I made good time getting to Booth Hall, that was until I had a conversation with a nice gentleman from the Idaho Highway Patrol, who gave me a ticket for $75 for going a little too fast down the Lewiston hill.

After finally circling Lewiston High School a few times while I ate dinner, I finally went into the gym and attempted to set up the laptop computer while preparing to cover the Coeur d'Alene-Lake City girls basketball game.

At first, I was set up along the scorer's table, but I moved to make room for the Lewiston radio team. Little did I know, I would eventually be moving into the booth high above the gym.

THE VIEW was pretty good, although to access the booth I had to climb a ladder and fit into a tight space to access the area, but had all the room I needed to make sure things were done in a timely fashion on Friday.

Eventually, that happened with a little help from the Lewiston A.D. - which without - I probably would still be driving around trying to find a way to e-mail the events of Friday.

MOST AREA girls basketball teams are finishing the season in the next two weeks and many squads are playing some of their best basketball of the season.

Tuesday night, one local 5A team concluded its season with another reaching the end on Friday - you can count on a battle Friday night for the final spot to state in the 5A race.

THINGS could get interesting for all three North Idaho College teams when it comes to the conclusion of their respective seasons.

Both basketball teams have a few more weeks of the regular season, with both still controlling its own destiny toward finishing at the top of the Scenic West Athletic Conference. Each could really help the cause of locking up the No. 1 seed with wins at Snow on Friday and Salt Lake on Saturday.

The Cardinal wrestling team enters the Region 18 tournament this weekend in Des Moines, Wash., with the ultimate goal of claiming another NJCAA championship in two weeks.

It goes without saying, everyone associated with these teams will need to bring their best to help their team reach their goals at the end of the year.

My goal - slow down and wait for good things to happen.

Jason Elliott is a correspondent for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-0239 or via e-mail at [email protected].