Nonleague games are great for bragging rights, rankings and preparation for league. That’s right, league. League games are what it’s all about. The Century and Empire Leagues started league play last week and the rest of the county joins them this week.

(Stuff) just got real.

If you are a team with aspirations of winning a CIF-SS championship, it all starts with league. In four- and five-team leagues, the top two finishers receive guaranteed playoff berths. The top three finishers in six- and seven-team leagues receive guaranteed playoff berths.

Teams that do not finish high enough in their standings can qualify for at-large berths, and no longer is a .500-or-better overall record required for at-large berth consideration. The Pac-5 Division has two at-large berths, the Southwest Division has two and the Southern Division has one.

But if you want to control your own destiny it’s all about earning one of those guaranteed playoff berths from your league battles.

All this talk about league play starting up has me thinking about “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.” Remember when Mad Max went toe-to-toe with Master Blaster in the Thunderdome. Two men enter … one man leaves.

Thunderdome announcer Dr. Dealgood was like a post-apocalyptic Bruce Buffer.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls … DYIN’ TIME’S HERE!!!!!”

Dr. Dealgood would then lay out the rules to the two combatants.

“Thunderdome’s simple. Get to the weapons, use them any way you can. I know you won’t break the rules, because there aren’t any.”

LEAGUE TIME’S HERE!!!!

Game of the night: San Clemente (4-2, 0-0) vs. El Toro (6-0, 0-0) at Trabuco Hills High, 7 p.m.

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