Schedules are just like promises: they’re meant to be broken. A scheduler’s nightmare is basketball schedules. Icy roads are the main culprits and to make it to the end of January with only a handful of cancellations isn’t bad. The only bad thing is the make up dates along with the regular schedule. This could be taxing on everyone.

The All-Knowing-One sees the reason for the cancellations as athletic directors know player safety is of upmost concern. But cancellations always make for trouble especially when trying to find a suitable make-up date. Take Thursday night’s game for example. After going through a few venue options, the game ended up at Park Arena.

With that settled, let’s take a look at Friday’s matchups.

TRAVERSE CITY CENTRAL (2-9) at ALPENA (4-7) – Boys – Now it is Traverse City’s turn to make the long trek across the state. Two trips by the Wildcats were unsuccessful, so let’s see if Alpena can turn the tables. Central has just two wins, but one was against Alpena. The Wildcats fought an uphill battle and it was Alpena’s inability to control the boards, keep the turnovers down and lastly and probably most costly was the inability to hit shots.

Is Swami going to say what he has said all along, a good start is most important in a win? No, but it certainly does help. To this point, it is the play of Cam DeCaire and Chris DeRocher that have been the mainstays for Alpena. While the Trojans have relied on sophomore guard Tobin Schwannecke to get them into the swing.

The All-Knowing-One says this is not one of Traverse City’s better teams, but do have enough fire power to put away any team in the Big North Conference. What the Wildcats must guard against is another slow start. This time the Wildcats get the start they want, and it will be the Trojans that will fight the uphill battle.

Swami Sez: Alpena 57, Traverse City Central 55.

FAIRVIEW (8-2) at HILLMAN (9-0) – Boys – This is the best competition Hillman has seen at the midpoint of the season. These two teams will not have a rematch until two weeks before the end of the regular season, so this game is important. If the Eagles are to remain in contention for the Little Dipper Division of the North Star League, a win must be in order tonight. A win by the Tigers will solidify their stronghold on the Big Dipper Division.

Fairview has four players that can reach double figures with Drake Willobee leading the way along with Tylor Ross, Jeremy Fleszar and Seth Cleeves. Fairview’s latest game wasn’t the best. It’s defense played well at times, but the same couldn’t be said for the offense. Too many turnovers and missed wide open shots. Still, the Eagles tightened their strong hold with a 55-53 buzzer beater by Willobee. Once again it was Cleeves and Fleszar leading the scoring production.

Hillman took care of business against Rogers City last Thursday to remain perfect on home court and well in league play. The Tigers have had their work cut for them this week, but they’ve taken care of business with wins over Au Gres and Gaylord St. Mary. Hillman has seen both ends of the spectrum this week, playing good and playing not so good.

Swami looks for another extraordinary game. The Tigers have a bullet on their back and everyone is shooting for them. The All-Knowing-One says playing three consecutive games on their home floor has its advantages.

Swami Sez: Hillman 52, Fairview 48.

POSEN (1-5) at MIO (2-10) – Boys – This is not the type of season either team had envisioned at the beginning of December. Neither team has been able to crack the win column on consecutive outings.

River Waisanen put the Thunderbolts in the win column on Tuesday with a 12-point performance against Hale. The Thunderbolts overcame a halftime deficit by controlling the second half to take a 45-40 win. In addition to Waisanen, Reilly McMaster added 11 points, all in the second half. Swami says it might just be the momentum the Thunderbolts have been looking for.

Meanwhile, Posen’s lone win was a tight one over Atlanta and the Vikings are hungry for another win. So the Vikings are definitely looking to gain another win in what should be a game for the taking. George Styma and Jared Sharpe have been the main cogs in the Viking lineup.

Swami has a 50-50 chance of being right here. Both teams are taking their lumps as the learning curve has been long and hard. The question arises as to which team has learned quicker. When all else fails, the All-Knowing-One goes with head-to-head competition. In three individual contests, the Thunderbolts have the upper hand, being far more competitive at this point. So with that in mind, he sees Mio pulling this one out.

Swami Sez: Mio 50, Posen 38.

ALCONA (6-4) at HALE (7-2) – Boys – Alcona finally has worked its way past the .500 mark, but a loss to Fairview brought them down a notch. Now comes the challenge of remaining at that mark or working towards the top of the North Star League’s Big Dipper division. So Swami says if Alcona is make headway it is now, going up against the Little Dipper Division leaders in the Eagles. The Tigers did everything they could to pull out the win on Tuesday, but it just wasn’t enough. Jordan Steiner led the late charge with 16 points.

Playing on the road can be difficult as Hale found out playing at Mio. For some unknown reason, the Eagles were flat the entire game. Offensively, Hale’s attack was led by Oliver Rice, who almost single handedly accounted for half of the Eagles points. The All-Knowing-One saw that the usual balanced scoring attack was no where to be seen. Now it remains to be seen, if it will make an appearance tonight. If not, then Hale could be looking at a dropping a game closer to second place Fairview.

There is too much at stake here for either team to take this game lightly. This will be the only meeting between the two and Swami says this could be the game of the night if everything falls into place.

Swami Sez: Hale 62, Alcona 51.