Just when we were going to look back at some of the great games that were played Tuesday night, Black Hawk athletic director Jerry Mortimer is forcing us to look ahead to the games that won't be played Thursday night (and, possibly, Friday night, too).

First, the look ahead. Jerry e-mailed to let us know that the Black Hawk School District -- covering South Wayne, Gratiot and other areas west of Monroe -- will be canceling classes Thursday in anticipation of dangerious wind-chill temperatures. That means the much-hyped Eastern Six Rivers Conference showdown between Barneveld and Black Hawk, both ranked in the top 10 of this week's Association Press Division 4 state poll, must wait until Saturday, Feb. 7 at 7:30.

We have now received additional cancellations for Thursday. Ithaca's girls basketball game at North Crawford has been called off and rescheduled for Jan. 24 at 3:30 p.m. and Brookwood's boys basketball game at Ontario against Wonewoc-Center has been moved to Saturday with the varsity playing at 3 p.m.

It's my guess that we'll be overwhelmed with school cancellations Thursday that will probably wipe out much of the scheduled sporting events at night. Coaches and athletic directors are reminded to e-mail me at rhernandez@madison.com with word of postponed events (and rescheduled dates where available).

I'll also be collecting guesses for when we'll see the first Sunday night game of the postponement season. If there is any justice to these weather challenges, it'll be that we are treated to a quiet and pleasant spring so the same athletic directors scrambling to get all 20 regular-season basketball games played for their boys and girls team don't have to go through the same drill during April and May.

And now that look back to the news and views from an eventful Tuesday night in several sports:

News: Janesville and Verona win their boys hockey games to set up a Big Eight Conference showdown -- weather permitting -- at 7 p.m. Thursday in Janesville.

Views: It should be a dandy. Janesville (7-1 overall, 6-1 Big Eight) has won six games in a row since its 3-2 overtime loss at Verona on Dec. 6 and Tuesday's 5-1 win over 8-2-1 Middleton was the most convincing. Verona (9-2-1, 6-0-1) will be coming off three straight one-goal games -- the latest Tuesday when the Wildcats scored two third-period goals to pull out a 3-2 win at Sun Prairie and put its 3-2 loss Saturday to fifth-ranked Madison Edgewood behind them.

News: Junior guard Kelsey Budd poured in 26 points to lead Sauk Prairie over host Baraboo 63-43 in a Northern Badger Conference girls basketball game.

Views: Budd is another one of those fine area players who works with John Waring and his Pacesetter Basketball skills and conditioning program on Sundays at the MAC Center in Verona throughout the school year. Coming off her 23-point performance in Saturday's upset of defending WIAA Division 2 state champion Monroe, Budd has led the Eagles on a five-game winning streak and within a game of first-place Reedsburg in the Northern Badger. Sauk, which moves from Division 2 to Division 1 for this year's WIAA tournament series, has a tough game Saturday at Division 1 Mukwonago before its showdown at home next Friday against Reedsburg, which beat the Eagles 43-34 in the season opener back on Nov. 25.

News: Mitch McArdle, the 5-foot-8 defensive sparkplug for the Monroe boys basketball team, hold 6-6 Derek Braucht scoreless for the final 1 minute, 40 seconds of regulation and all of overtime as the visiting Cheesemakers rallied to win 56-52.

Views: That's the second time McArdle has come up big against Braucht this season (he held him to eight point in their first meeting at Monroe). But if you are Edgewood coach Chris Zwettler, you know how successful a smaller defender can be against a tall offensive threat. His 2002 team won the WIAA Division 2 state title largely to the defensive work of 6-foot Adriel Hansbro on 6-11 Steve Novak of Brown Deer, a Marquette-bound standout who Hanbro held to four points on 2-for-9 shooting in the state title game.

 News: Junior Chase Stiener recorded his 100th career victory for the Sun Prairie wrestling team as the Cardinals remained unbeaten in the Big Eight Conference with a 59-12 win over Madison East.

Views: Sun Prairie has three conference duals left -- Friday at Madison West, Jan. 22 vs. Verona and Jan. 28 at Beloit Memorial -- before it can officially claim the Big Eight dual title. The Cardinals have not ruled the Big Eight Conference in wrestling since 2000.