Finally, the countdown to what everybody's talked about

I like the odds of Notre Dame and Sikeston facing off for a Class 4 district championship Friday, but Monday's first-round games should start the week on a competitive high note.

Perry Park Center hosts two boys basketball games Monday, the first day of district tournaments for Class 4 and 5 teams. A Sikeston-Notre Dame rematch for the district championship has been written on schedules almost since Notre Dame won last year's title in a two-point finish, and a loss by either team before Friday's championship game would qualify as possibly the biggest surprise of the basketball season.

But first, two games are Monday: Ste. Genevieve vs. Dexter at 6 p.m., and Fredericktown vs. Perryville at 7.

Down the road, Jackson hosts the Class 5 District 1 tournament that starts Monday. Opening-day games: Cape Girardeau Central plays Fox at 5:30, and Hillsboro plays Seckman at 7.

More games are lined up each day through the week, including first-round girls games Tuesday.

Rather than duplicate every bracket involving more than 80 teams across our area, check out this link for several brackets already posted at Rivals' MoSports.com site.

Check back for scores all week, which are posted as soon as possible after the games. If you're at the game, you can send scores from your cell phone via text message to (573) 979-5929, or e-mail them to scores@semosportsweb.com.

• Also coming this week are dozens of images from the three-day state high school wrestling finals in Columbia, which ended Saturday. We'll be adding photos by photographer Kirby Laws of several competitors from across the region, including our area's two state champs: Jake Vonderbruegge of Hillsboro and Craig Wilson of Farmington.