In my Thursday column, I throw in two cents on the talk-show discussions about seeding basketball teams for the district tournaments. But my question is this: Do the fans care if teams get seeded?
This is one of those where my opinion has changed the longer I've been around the high school game.
Previously, I was of the philosophy that you took what you were dealt. Champions had to beat the best competition anyway. Just do it.
But there is definitely a strategic benefit to getting a bye, and also to not having to play the toughest opponent out of the gate. Some coaches might want to play their toughest game right away. But I'd bet the majority would rather build up to that game -- and definitely would take a bye no matter the hot streak they might be riding heading into the postseason.
I think politically it would be pretty tough to get 100 percent accuracy in seeding an entire district. In mid-Michigan, we have great coaches when it comes to avoiding politics -- I see this when we choose all-area teams. But I guarantee there are leagues that feel superior to others, which would definitely affect district seeds.
And that said, I don't know that every team in a district needs to be seeded. Just give the top two seeds the byes on opposite sides of the bracket, and blindly pick the rest. That awards those teams for what they did during the regular season -- and sets up some sure district championship drama. As I look at next week's girls districts, that's definitely lacking in our area brackets. The best matchups should come in Monday's openers or Wednesday's semifinals.
High school sports editor 
