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Banners are coming to a gym near you dave konopki opinion

Friday February 12, 2010 | 12:00 AM

If you’re looking to make some good money during these tough economic times, perhaps you should consider getting into the business of making championship banners for high school gymnasiums.

With the way some championships are won in the Wyoming Valley Conference, you’ll be rolling in dough in no time at all.

Need proof? Take a look at the WVC boys and girls basketball leagues.

Play six games and crown a first-half champion. Play another seven games and crown a second-half champion. And if those two champions aren’t the same, play a special playoff game and crown an overall champion.

And it doesn’t take much of a search to find a special playoff game.

Following the first half of play in the girls league this season, three of the four first-half division championships were decided by a special playoff.

One of those “championship” games featured two teams with 3-2 – yes, 3-2 – records in their division. In another division, three teams were tied to force two-game playoff.

It looks as though more special playoff games might be needed to decide second-half champions in the boys and girls leagues. And don’t be surprised when special playoff games are needed to determine overall championships.

First-half champions. Second-half champions. Overall champions.

The British Monarchy hasn’t had that many crowns.

Wrestling for banners

Basketball certainly isn’t alone in crowing multiple champions. In wrestling, there are more than enough opportunities to win a team or individual title.

In addition to the many tournaments held during the holidays and before regular season action begins, there is also a WVC teams dual tournament, a WVC tournament to crown individual championship, a District 2 team duals tournament and the District 2 tourney. Then regionals. Then states.

And don’t forget about the team championships available by winning a WVC division title. This season, the WVC Division II championship – won by a very good Hanover Area team with a 5-0 record – could have been captured with four wins in the six-team division.

Hey, this isn’t a knock on the teams that have won – or will soon win – basketball or wrestling championships this season. Those teams would have most likely won a championship no matter what kind of system was in place.

But when teams are playing a championship after winning only a handful of games – and then possibly doing the same thing a few weeks later – the system needs to be changed.

Knights could rack up banners

While we’re on the subject of wrestling, someone please tell me I’m not the only one who would like to see Wyoming Seminary join the WVC – and the PIAA, as well.

The Blue Knights have been getting a lot of publicity in recent years, thanks to the tremendous success head coach John Gordon has brought to the program.

How great would it be to see that kind of talent competing in the WVC, in District 2, and on the mats at Hershey during the state championships?

I know Seminary enjoys competing against prep school competition and in many prestigious tournaments. But I also know Pennsylvania is a state with a rich high school wrestling tradition.

I’d love to see Wyoming Seminary become a part of it.