In terms of sheer volume, this is the biggest week ever for New Mexico’s most romantic, most glorified sporting event. We have 96 teams to follow this week, 16 more than usual as for the first time, New Mexico is crowning champions in the Class B division. For the boys, 36 of the top eight seeds in Classes 1A-5A advanced to the second week. For the girls, only 29 of 40 are still going.

Among scores of great storylines from every nook and cranny of the state, here are just a few worth mentioning:

• Can La Cueva’s boys threepeat in 5A? Not since New Mexico went to a classification system in 1953-54 has an Albuquerque program in the largest division captured three consecutive boys titles.

• Cliff’s Pete Shock and Hope Christian’s Jim Murphy are both after their 10th state titles; only the late Ralph Tasker of Hobbs, with 12, has more.

• Can Eldorado’s girls win their first title since the Don Flanagan era?

• Will the only two unbeatens anywhere in boys basketball, Hagerman and Cliff, collide for the Class 1A championship?

• Can Tularosa’s Coleman brothers — Emery and Jim — lead the Wildcats to the school’s first state championship?

Part 2 of the 2011 tournament begins Tuesday with the girls. The boys follow on Wednesday.
GIRLS PICKS: Let’s start with 5A. There are four metro-area schools in the top half of the bracket, four southern programs on the bottom half. Who is left standing come Saturday? I’m going chalk here, with No. 1 Eldorado over No. 2 Hobbs. However, as I noted a few weeks ago, Hobbs last season dealt Eldorado its only regular-season loss. Just something to file away.
My other choices are Roswell (2) over Kirtland Central (1) in 4A, Santa Fe Indian (1) over Portales (2) in 3A, Texico (1) over Navajo Pine (6) in 2A, Fort Sumner (1) over (2) Tatum in 1A, and Elida (1) over Carrizozo (3) in Class B.
BOYS PICKS: Manzano was my pre-tournament pick, and I see no reason to back off. I’ll take the third-seeded Monarchs over No. 4 Eldorado on Saturday night. While this is sure to rile Oñate and La Cueva, I’ll take the winner of the Eldorado-Cleveland quarterfinal to advance to the final from the top half.
Had Clovis and Manzano been on opposite halves, those would have been my finalists. As it stands, the Monarchs and Wildcats could meet in Thursday’s semifinals.

That aside, 5A remains relatively wide open. But if you’re looking for Oñate or Clovis to hoist the blue trophy, here’s something to remember: not since 1997 (Alamogordo) has a non-metro school — other than Hobbs — won the big-school title.

If 5A is wide open, then what do we call 4A?  The 4A bracket almost lost its No. 1 seed on the opening weekend, as Gallup was taken into overtime by No. 16 Kirtland Central.

Is this finally the year for long-suffering Española Valley? I’ll take the No. 2 Sundevils (despite that ugly late-season loss to Bernalillo) over the Bengals in the final.

On that topic, now might be a good time to talk about this — should Gallup and Española Valley meet Saturday, it could be utter chaos.

A Gallup-EV final would easily sell out the Pit, and probably well in advance of a 2:30 p.m. tipoff. If you’re a fan of a school that might reach the 3A boys final at 10:30 a.m., or the Class 1A girls final at 12:30 p.m. — and perhaps even the 5A girls final at 4:30 p.m. — then you would be VERY wise to get to University Arena early Saturday. If you show up 30 minutes before tipoff expecting a seat, you risk missing the game.

I’ll also take Hope Christian (1) over Sandia Prep (3) in 3A, Tularosa (1) over Mora (2) in 2A, Cliff (2) over Hagerman (1) in 1A, and Quemado (1) over San Jon (2) in Class B.

FINAL THOUGHT: This will be a special week for me. This year marks the 25th anniversary of my first state tournament for the Journal.

I was 19(!) years old in March of 1986. I still remember the first championship I covered, the Class 2A boys final between Mesa Vista and Escalante. Reflecting on that morning, I am reminded of something.

Those of us who live in Albuquerque have usually operated on the assumption that it is the bright lights of our Duke City that makes the state tournament so special for those dozens of smaller communities who join us for these few days every March.

It took me a whole bunch of state tournaments to realize that it is actually the other way around. It is those small towns, those wonderful fan bases who wear their hearts on their sleeves, that make the week truly special for us.

It is that admirable sense of community they bring here, their shared hope, their boundless enthusiasm, that sets Albuquerque on fire. They infuse this week with their passion and their dreams. It’s a joy to watch. And for that, we should thank them.

Let’s raise the curtain.