Saline and Skyline faced off Tuesday, and I'm picking both of them to win Friday.

Courtney Sacco | AnnArbor.com

So it turns out my full-court press was a bit porous.

As in 58 of you found a way to beat it, as I went 2-3 in my debut as the picker.

Hey, I get some sort of learning curve, right?

As I look to shore up this week, I could take some pointers from the Huron boys, who used a strong press to cruise past Saline and spoil one of my picks Saturday night, forcing me to finish under .500.

For most teams, not having two leading scorers in the lineup (as Huron did) would be a serious detriment, hence my pick. But the program depth at Huron means the next player in can get the job done. I learned that the hard way.

The Chelsea girls against Tecumseh made me look silly, too, easily winning a game I picked against them in. Apparently I neglected to make note of that three-game win streak coming in.

My other miss, Skyline boys against Temperance Bedford, I can live with. The Eagles, my pick, were up three in the final minute before giving up a game-tying 3-pointer and losing in overtime to a team with a much better record. Tough break.

This week’s schedule is littered with rivalry games -- not an ideal scenario for a young picker. Rivalry games tend to produce close games

The highlight on this one will be Friday’s Huron vs. Pioneer boys game at Pioneer High School, which also happens to be the AnnArbor.com Game of the Week. Pioneer has won seven straight, the longest win streak of any Washtenaw County boys team, and has knocked off some good opponents in the process. So I’m picking them over Huron, despite the fact that the River Rats looked darn strong on Saturday.

Maybe that means I haven’t learned my lesson, picking against Huron again. Like I said: learning curve.

Beat the Press Winners

People who have “Beat the Press” so far: 58
Kyle’s overall record: 2-3 (.400)