Last week in this column I predicted that the last two teams standing for the 5A Girls State Basketball title would be Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene. After Friday night's bracket games proved me prophetic Bert and I took a Saturday morning flight down south to cheer for the north. It was an epic battle, two hometown teams from Kootenai County playing for the trophy. They were the top two 5A teams in the entire state for most of the season so the sportswriters got this one right. It was also the first time that Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls teams had met each other in a state title game in any sport, either boys and girls.

It was a rollercoaster personally as Coeur d'Alene is my alma mater and Post Falls is my home. In the unique dynamic this year, Trojan and Viking players not only know each other but some played club basketball, soccer or softball on the same teams. It's usually us (the North) versus them (the South) but this time I knew that when the final buzzer sounded there would be friends celebrating and friends heartbroken no matter who won. In the final seconds of overtime play it all came down to two points on the Post Falls side of the scoreboard.

But at the end of the day our athletes, coaches and fans from both teams represented our communities in the North well, gracious in both victory and in defeat. Congratulations to all!

Odds & Ends from the state tournament in Nampa ... at halftime of the championship game the Idaho High School Activities Association presented the Legends of the Game Award to the 1984 Girls State A-3 Championship team from Kimberly High School. I'm not sure how many spectators realized that one of those players from 29 years ago out at center court receiving a plaque, the former Lori Easterly, is now Lori Otter, aka Idaho's first lady.

One of the officials presenting the state championship trophy to the Post Falls Trojans was John Billetz, executive director of the Idaho High School Activities Association. John is a former principal of Post Falls High School so it was like old home week.

Coming home from Boise on Sunday via Salt Lake City we shared a flight back to Spokane with Dick Haugen and three North Idaho College basketball players, Aimee Durbidge, Renae Mokrzycki and Georgia Stirton, all of Australia. The Cardinal women played Saturday in Salt Lake, notching a win. Dick, regional manager of Idahosports.com, is looking well after he had a heart attack while accompanying the NIC men's team in Arizona a few months back.

Another "I Love Where I Live" moment ... after an 8-hour bus ride when the high school team returns on a Sunday afternoon with a state championship trophy, there's a police and fire truck escort for the caravan through town with people waving from the sidewalks and front porches.

Happy Birthday today to Rick Seward turns 83 years young, sharing a birthday with Maycie Goodlander, Barb Eveland, Phil Romans and Jared "Mike" White. Tomorrow's birthday girls are Megan Lee and Donna Pfeiffer. On Friday Mark Sales, Tami Crawford, Billie Jo Campbell, Doug Floyd, Jim Clark and Jack Lash make another trip around the sun. Shawn Telford, Corinna Hunter, Diane Mort, Louise Robeson, Bill Kaufman, Holly McNee, Denise Wilbanks and Marion Brendis celebrate Saturday birthdays and on Sunday wish a happy birthday to Ingrid Allen, Sheila Wooley and Barb Koerner. Next week's birthday parade starts with Nathan McLeod, Barb Dietrick, Rosalie True and Jimmy Conrow on Monday and on Tuesday Brad Medlock, Tina Hough, Carolyn Peterson, Clara Hester, Ivy Fox and Ron Gonzalez.

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2012 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri is on the air Mondays and Wednesdays on 1080 ESPN AM (KVNI). Find her on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com.